The Choices We Make
by FoodBookLover
Summary: Stephanie is forced to finally make a decision between Morelli and Ranger. Before she can make a choice, some unexpected complications come her way. I'm a BabeCake, so both men get a fair shot.
1. Chapter 1

_I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

I stared at him. "Um, how do you feel?" I asked.

He thought for a moment. "Better," he finally said. "Warm." His eyes got dark and soft, and the corners of his mouth tipped into a smile. "Very friendly." He reached out for me and pulled me into him. "Come here, Cupcake."

He pulled my shirt over my head and began to kiss me. We stumbled back towards the bedroom losing articles of clothing along the way. And then began the makeup sex that we had been waiting for. After a very long night, we both fell asleep tangled in mess of arms and legs.

The sun had started streaming through the window when I woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. I felt Joe reach over to grab his phone and heard him softly curse. He set the phone down and gathered me back into his arms and kissed me. "I need to go Cupcake."

I mumbled incoherently back at him, "Doyouhavetago? Stay."

He came back to the bed and leaned over me and kissed my forehead, "Steph, I want you to think about us for the next couple of days. Remember when I said one of us should grow up, I really mean it. Let's think about making this permanent, one way or another."

That made me lift myself up out of bed a little. "What do you mean?"

"I want you to decide. It's me or him, and I really hope it's me. But I just can't share you anymore."

Now I'm awake. "Joe, it's not-"

"I know what it is, and I love you, I want whatever is best for you. I just want you to decide once and for all."

I was completely bewildered, and I certainly hadn't had enough coffee or sugar for a conversation like this! "Isn't this a little early in the morning for a heavy talk like this?"

This got me a little smile. "Yeah, I just wanted to have one great last night to remember if this was it." Then he kissed my forehead and ran a hand through my hair. "I'll talk to you later Cupcake. I do love you." And he walked out the door.

I laid back down knowing I would never get back to sleep after a conversation like that. I looked at the clock, it was 5am. I tried to close my eyes and shut my brain off, but eventually I just got up. What was I supposed to do now? I started mentally making a list of what this meant to me. I wasn't naïve enough to think that I could continue this dance forever, but after being finally confronted about it I know that I am still not ready to deal with it. I love them both and committing to one is going to hurt the other.

So I know that I needed to see Ranger before I can make any decisions, and that thought terrifies me. It would help settle my decision if I can find out if there is a relationship possibility there. I toyed with the idea of going see him at Rangeman right now. He probably just got finished with his workout and would be disoriented after workout. Nope, that's me. And he would be hot, sweaty Ranger. Which settles the dilemma and procrastination seems to be in my best interest considering my stomach is full of butterflies and my brain couldn't put together a coherent though. Being in the close proximity of Ranger would ensure that I had no thought and would probably end up with me in a compromising position.

I need to talk with Joe too. I need a timetable for this decision. That way I draw this out as long as possible. I suppose if I do choose Joe, he'll want some additional commitment like moving in or marriage. My heart started beating out of my chest at the thought of marriage again. I guess I should start consider it, he's right I do need to grow up.

So instead of making decisions for the rest of my life, I made myself some coffee and a poptart. I shared a small piece with Rex and cleaned my apartment and played on the internet. Deciding I had procrastinated long enough, I took off for the Tasty Pastry and picked up a dozen doughnuts for the girls in the office. If my stomach was going to be tied up in knots all day, then at least it would have sugar for company.

I carried the donuts in and saw only Connie at the front desk. She smiled at the offering in my hands, "Lula will be happy if she ever makes it in. But you're here early, I thought after your big payday on the Rug that you would be laying low for a little while."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I've got a lot on my mind and I'm hoping for a distraction. Please tell me you have something to keep me occupied."

Lula chose this moment to walk in. "Hey girl, glad to see you brought me some sugar this morning. I just need a little pick me up, then I'll be ready to head out and kick some ass."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have anything new pickups today. Looks like you're stuck filing for once."

"Huh. So what you going to do all day then?" Lula grunted at me.

I thought about it for a while and could think of nothing to put off the inevitable confrontation with Ranger. "I guess I might stop by Rangeman and see if they have anything I could do."

"Mmmm… girl, that man will always find something for you to do. But what are you doing, still stringing both men along? I thought you were going to make a choice?"

I took another deep sigh and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, it looks like that's where I'm heading. I just need to actually make my choice."

They both gasped. Connie recovered first. "So who are you choosing?"

"I want to see what Ranger has to say before I come to any definite decisions. Which is why I am dreading this trip to Rangeman."

"Well get going girl and bring us back some news," Lula chimed in.

"Alright, I'm out of here. Let me know if anything comes in, please."

I noticed I was more tired than usual as I stepped into my car. Yet another reminder as to why I do not get up at 5 in the morning. Maybe before I talked to Ranger I should go home and take a nap. I quickly talked myself out of this and decided to rip off the band aid. I decided I was going to be a grown up and this is the grown up thing to do. When I pulled into the Rangeman garage, the butterflies in my stomach turned nauseous. At this point I realized that I had never figured out what I was going to say to him. I can't just run into his office and demand to know what our relationship meant. What was I thinking? Just then I saw Bobby and Lester acknowledge me and I lost the ability to run away and now I had to at least come in and make an appearance. I took a couple of nervous breaths and stepped out of my car. I tried to keep my breathing calm as I walked towards the guys.

Lester smiled at me, making me relax a little. I am still surprised sometimes how a short while ago I would have be terrified to have these two walking toward me in an empty parking garage. Now it relaxes me knowing they are around. "Hey Beautiful, to what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you so early this morning?"

I gave him the calmest smile I could manage with my nerves on edge. "Just here to see Ranger. Do you know if he's in."

His smile brightened even further. "For you, he's always available."

"Ok, you take care now." And I rushed toward the elevator and pressed 5 before the telltale blush crept over my face.

I slowly walked towards Ranger's office and stood outside the door taking deep breaths and counting to ten. That didn't help at all, so I finally just knocked on the door and I heard his voice on the other side of the door call me in.

I pulled the door open and walked into his office. He looked up at me and a smile almost pulled at his face. "Babe. I didn't think you'd be up this early in the morning."

"Yeah, couldn't sleep this morning. Lot on my mind."

This made him smile even further. "So you and Morelli finally had that talk and now you find yourself here."

I think my mouth dropped open at this point. Damn Ranger ESP, it's just not fair. I think I sat there silent for a few moments, waiting to think about what I was going to say. "How…"

"Babe."

"Fine, so what am I supposed to do?"

"I told you blind leading the blind."

I fell into the chair across his desk and threw my arm over my face. "Ugh! You're both impossible. I should run away and join the circus."

"What do you need from me?"

"If I have to make a choice I want to know what you're offering. No riddles about condoms. If I choose you, what is it going to be like? Are you able to be in a _**relationship**_ with me?"

He took a deep breath and I think Ranger almost sighed. "I don't if I will ever get married again."

"I didn't say married, I said relationship."

"I don't know, I thought we already had a relationship. For you, I would be willing to try for some kind of commitment. What are you looking for?"

Now it was my turn to sigh. "I don't know."

"When do you have to get back to Morelli?"

"He didn't say. I guess now I get to go do some thinking." And I stood up and walked out of his office.

"Don't go crazy." He called to me when I reached his door.

I turned around and smiled. "Don't get shot." And I walked out the door, trying to acknowledge all the greetings from the Merry Men.

By the time I got into my car, I was exhausted. I looked at the clock and saw it was only 11am. I decided to go home and take a nap. On the drive home, my brain was on autopilot and I shocked myself when I pulled into a parking space. An overwhelming feeling of nausea came over me as I threw up in the parking lot. I cursed Morelli for putting me in such a state. I made my way up to my apartment and barely got the locks on the door before I dragged myself to the bed and passed out.

When I woke up and looked at the clock it was 4 in the afternoon. I had almost slept the day away. I still had the butterflies in my stomach, but it was also growling so I got up to make myself something to eat. I decided peanut butter sandwich sounded edible, but the thought of olives made me remember the parking lot earlier, so they remained absent.

I had just finished up when I heard my phone ring. I looked at the caller ID and saw the source of my distress. "Morelli."

"Cupcake." I could hear him smile on the phone. "Sorry about the rude wake up this morning."

"It wasn't your finest hour."

"No, but it's been a long time coming. Have you gone to see Manoso yet?"

"I did, does that make you angry?"

"No, I expected you would need to. I would be angry if you slept with him."

"Geez, nothing like that. Speaking of, is there a timetable on this decision?" I winced knowing he wouldn't be happy with this line of questioning. With the amount of time that passed I could imagine him staring at his shoes and counting to a hundred.

"My hope was that it wouldn't take you any time at all. In the grown up spirit though, I will I can understand that you need some time to think things through. I'll touch base with you later in the week."

"I appreciate your patience."

"Later Cupcake."

"Later Morelli."

We disconnected and I felt a new wave of nausea. I ran to the bathroom and saw the reappearance of my peanut butter sandwich. With everything else going on the last thing I needed was getting sick. But I was so tired I went straight to bed while trying to push all thoughts of this choice out of my mind.


	2. Chapter 2

I am not JE and just doing this for fun.

**Chapter 2**

When I finally woke up it was early the next morning. I still felt queasy, but I was also surprisingly hungry. I made myself some toast and hoped that would settle my stomach. Aside from feeling very tired and nauseous, I felt fine. I debated for a few minutes whether I should make an appearance at the bonds office or just sit around the apartment all day watching television.

I knew my brain wouldn't shut off if I sat around all day, so I went to the bonds office for a distraction. Of course, I forgot to factor the curiosity of the girls in the bonds office. I was pelted with questions the second I walked in the door.

Lula was first. "So how'd it go with Batman yesterday?"

"Uneventful."

"Girl, you're going to have to give us more than that."

Connie spoke up now, "So what's going on now? Is Morelli finally putting his foot down? Because we know Ranger isn't going to be rushing to settle down."

"Can you keep this quiet? I really don't need the Burg floating with rumors of what's going on." They both zipped their mouths and mocked throwing away the key. "Morelli is asking me to finally make a choice between him and Ranger. So I went to talk to Ranger and didn't really get what I was looking for. Now I'm just as confused as I was before."

"Huh, so the bake off didn't help?" Lula said.

"Not really. So I have this big decision to make and they're both great, but I can't figure out which fits in best with me. And to make matters worse, I think I'm coming down with something."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've been puking and I'm so tired."

"You sure you aren't pregnant?" Connie chimed in.

I thought about it. I think I was due sometime last week, and I haven't started. Surely it was just stress over the past few weeks. That happens sometimes. If I actually let myself go down that path, I'll be scared shitless. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"I dunno girl, your breasts are starting to actually look like breasts. Maybe you should take a test just to be safe." Lula pointed out.

What could that hurt? Only everything. "Sure, I'll take a test. But there is no way I'm going to buy a test. That would really get the Burg rumor mill going."

Lula volunteered. "I'll go grab you one. You stay right here." And she hustled herself out to her car.

I was left with Connie quietly assessing me. "So if you are pregnant, who's baby is it?"

"That's an excellent question. Damn Vordo week bake off whatever."

"Shit Steph." And so we sat in silence waiting for Lula to get back from her pregnancy test errand.

Lula was out of breath in the 15 minutes that it took for her to get back. "I didn't know which one to get, so I got a few." She handed me a bag with 5 different pregnancy tests.

"Geez, I don't think I have enough pee for all these tests."

"I know, that's why I grabbed you this." And she shoved a large bottle of water at me.

"You might as well bite the bullet and go do this. Lula got you all those tests and she won't leave you alone until you take them."

I gave them my best Burg eye roll. "Fine. Make sure the rat fink stays in his office and oblivious."

"Don't worry, he's out writing a bond."

So into the bathroom I went, dreading the end of my life as I know it. I took all 5 tests and waited. The wait felt like an eternity. After checking all the tests I collapsed on the floor. I started hearing banging on the door and heard Lula and Connie asking me to open the door. I was paralyzed. Finally my brain snapped into gear and I was able to get off the floor and open the door. I stepped out and saw two very concerned looking women.

"Steph, you okay?" Connie approached me tentatively.

"Hell no she ain't okay, she's knocked up."

I tried to make words come out, but I couldn't. I just stood there with my mouth open until Connie again broke me out of my trance by snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Steph, focus. What are you going to do?"

I shook my head. "I guess I'm going to have a baby. Shit, I'm going to have a baby."

"Yeah, but look at the bright side. This helps solve your man problem. You just pick the baby daddy."

"Lula! First of all, it's not that simple. For all I know the baby daddy doesn't want said baby. And second, I don't exactly know who that would be."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Eventually. I need to do some research first. Figure out how quickly I can get a paternity test done. I need to go."

"So what should I do about any skips that come in?"

"I think for now I shouldn't take any high risk or violent FTAs."

"Steph, if you need anything, we're here for you."

"Yeah girl, you need some snacks or whatever just give us a call."

"Thanks girls. I know it's hard, but please just keep this between us for now."

I drove to McDonalds on my way home hoping that my hangover cure would also ease my pregnancy stomach. I chuckled to myself at the thought that Ranger would be upset if he knew I was feeding his baby this unhealthy food through my body. As I got into my apartment, I sat at my computer and began my research. I decide to myself that I am putting aside all thoughts of men because I need to focus now on my baby. I would start getting the rest of my life together, and then everything else will fall into place. I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for later in the week. I didn't really want to go to the appointment alone, but I also couldn't see taking both men in with me. Then I realized my next big hurdle was how to tell them. After a few hours, I decided on taking a nap.

I woke up to knocking on my door and the sound of a key. I looked at the clock, it was 6pm. I heard Morelli enter and call out for me.

"Hold on, I'll be right out." I decided I would just have to face this head on. While part of me wanted to hide and go back into denial land, I knew that I didn't want to go through this all alone. I met him in the living room, he was holding a plain white envelope in one hand and setting a Pinos bag on the counter. My first thought was that this was odd for him to bring me mail, then I felt the now familiar nausea and ran to the bathroom.

I could hear Morelli's confusion as he followed me to the bathroom. "Cupcake, where are you going? Oh shit, are you ok?" He came up behind me and pulled all the hair off of my shoulders and lightly stroked my back. I finally leaned back a little. "Do you think you might be done now?"

I nodded. "Sorry about that."

"Did you catch something?"

"Do you mind if I clean up here and I'll be out in just a minute."

He looked at me with a puzzled face. "Sure. Let me know if you need me again."

I waited for him to leave and I gently brushed my teeth and splashed some water on my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and gave myself a mental pep talk. Time to go out and face Morelli. I put on a fake smile like everything was great, wishing I could put on some extra mascara.

"Hey, what brings you over here? I didn't expect to see you until later this week."

"Uh, yeah. Are you ok? I walk in and you run off to the bathroom. What's going on?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. It's now or never. "I'm pregnant."

I was slightly amused to see that Morelli had about the same reaction I had. His mouth was open and he looked like he had something to say, but he stood there for a few moments saying nothing. "Wow, this is kind of unexpected."

"Listen, I know this wasn't something anyone was planning."

"It's not a bad thing though. I'm actually kind of happy. I mean, I figured we'd have kids eventually, so it happened a little earlier than we expected." Then a big smile came over his face and he rushed over and enveloped me into a big hug. "We're having a baby! How awesome is this? I mean- Cupcake, why are you crying?"

I shook my head against his chest and continued crying. The realization finally hit Joe as he pulled me away from him and tipped my face up to his. "It's not my baby, is it?" He sounded heartbroken.

And there was nothing I could do to fix it. "I don't know."

He nodded and pulled away from me. "Is there a chance?"

"Yes." I said between sobs.

"What kind of chance?" His voice was so soft. I didn't know what to expect.

"I don't know 50-50?" He nodded his head. "Why aren't you yelling at me? I'm a horrible person!"

He looked down and was silent for a few moments. "You aren't a horrible person. You made some stupid decisions and now we get to deal with them. It really hasn't set in yet, but I don't think yelling at a scared, sick pregnant woman is going to be productive."

I nodded at him. I didn't know what to do; I was prepared for an all out fight of the century. And he was sitting there calm as can be. "So now what?"

"Do you know your due date? Have you made a doctor's appointment?" And then he sighed in defeat. "And have you told Manoso?"

"I don't have a due date yet, but I figure I'm around 5-6 weeks. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday, so hopefully I'll get some more answers then. I think they can't do any paternity testing until about 9 weeks. And no, I haven't told Ranger yet. But it's only a matter of time before he figures it out." I couldn't look him in the eye for the last part.

So there we stood in silence. He broke first. "I would like to go to the appointment with you."

"I know. Ranger may want to go too. Would that be a problem?"

"Probably. But we're going to have to make it work somehow until we find out one way or the other."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say or do. I feel horrible about putting you through this."

"I need to let it all sink it, but we all made mistakes here. I shouldn't have pushed you away like I did. None of us can change anything now. We have to play the cards we've been dealt. And since you are having a baby, you need to eat. You lunch may have ended up in the toilet, but how does a meatball sub strike you?"

I nodded my head and wiped the tears I'd been crying from my eyes. We sat down and ate in mostly silence. He would occasionally ask me a question about my pregnancy. The entire evening was surprisingly civil. Suddenly something struck me as being odd. "You never asked me if I was going to have the baby."

He gave me a small smile. "You're Catholic. The guilt would have eaten you alive. Plus, I know you too well Cupcake. If you weren't going to have the baby, you would have never told me."

"You're probably right."

"Do you need me to stay tonight?"

"I think I'll be alright. You probably need some space to think all this through."

"Before I go, I wanted to show you this." He handed me an envelope. "I was pretty freaked out to get a new stalker, but I didn't expect you to top me on news." He gave me another small smile.

I read through the note:

_My old friend Joe,_

_I have been thinking about you these long years. You've probably forgotten all about me, but I will never forget what you did to me and how you ruined my life. Know that I'm watching you and I will strike soon and take from you what is most dear._

_Until then_

I read through it twice. I guess Joe assumed that I was what was most dear in his life. More great news, someone threatening me on top of everything else. "I assume you are taking this to the police."

"I've already taken it in to evidence. This is a copy. Please try to be careful for the time being. We don't know who this is or why he has targeted us. I'm sure Ranger will want to start some protection detail when he finds out. Keep me informed and please protect yourself, if not for yourself do it for the baby."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I will. Take care of yourself."

"Yeah. I still love you Cupcake. Don't forget it."

This made me smile at him. "I love you too."

"Call me, for anything. Really."

"I will."

And he walked out the door. It was only 8pm, but I was already dead tired. Who knew coming clean could be so exhausting. And I had to do it again, with Batman. A good night's sleep would do me good. I'll deal with Ranger tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

_Janet's characters' I'm just having fun. _

_I would love to say that I will keep up the quick posting, but I have been sick and mostly relegated to a chair for the last 3 days and that has made writing pretty easy. Finally getting better, so it may not be tomorrow._

**Chapter 3**

I saw Morelli standing in front of me not saying anything. Then Ranger walked up and stood next to them. Neither said anything, they just had disappointed looks on their faces. The hairs on the back of my neck started tingling and the smell of Bvlgari body wash invaded my senses. My eyes slowly worked their way open and focused on the alarm clock which read 12:15. It was still dark out so it was just after midnight. I knew he was there, I didn't know how long he had been there.

"You know, most people would break into my house at a decent hour," I mumbled through sleep.

"I was in the neighborhood." His voice was tense. It was barely noticeable from his normal demeanor, but he was holding it at bay.

"I just going to assume you already know what's going on."

"I'd rather hear it from you, Babe."

I sighed, I may have even rolled my eyes before I inched myself up on my forearms so I could sit up and look him in the eye. "Ranger, I'm pregnant. I don't know if it's yours or not. I won't even be able to find out for another few weeks."

"Babe."

"I think the situation warrants more than a one word answer."

"What kind of answer are you looking for?"

"I would like to know what you think about the situation."

He was silent for a few beats. "It's not ideal."

"No shit. How do you feel about the fact I might be having your baby?"

More silence. "This was never in my plan. I'm not upset over it either. I'm concerned about you; it's been a hectic few weeks and then this on top of it. How are you holding up?"

I thought back through the past few weeks. I had a stalker leaving me dead bodies and trying to date me at the same time. Morelli's grandmother put a Vordo curse on me which led to this whole mess. I went to Hawaii for a vacation to get away from it all which led to the Morelli-Ranger confrontation and fallout. Then I had to deal with the Razzle Dazzle/picture saga. And now I have a new stalker and I'm pregnant. Oh shit, I have to remember to tell Ranger about the new stalker. "I think I am numb to everything by now."

He barely nodded.

I sighed, I would rather have this conversation somewhere less vulnerable than in my bed. "Now that you have me up, I am going to go get some hot chocolate. Let's go sit and talk." He held out his hand for me and helped me get out of bed. Then we walked silently into the kitchen and I began making two cups of hot chocolate. He sat at the table and watched me. I handed him one of the cups and sat down.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Babe."

"I'm sorry, if I figure we need to toast or drink the problem away and I can't drink now, so this is what we're settling for."

He smiled at me and picked up his cup to sip at it. "How did Morelli take the news?"

I smiled back, Ranger seemed to have gotten over his initial shock. "He took it pretty well, considering. He didn't even yell at me." I shook my head slightly at the memory. "He did ask to come with me to the appointment on Friday."

He gave me one nod, his blank face in place giving nothing away. "Am I allowed to come too?"

I gave out a soft laugh. "Do you two think you can control yourselves and not break into a fist fight in the waiting room?"

"I can if he can."

"Then you can both come. I don't want to hold either of you out of this because that would be unfair until we know for sure. Somehow we're all going to have to work through this together until we get it all figured out."

"Is there anything I can do for you right now? Are you going to continue to work for the bonds office?"

"I don't think it's safe for me to do right now. I told Connie that I could only take low risk, non violent FTAs. But those don't usually have a high bond, so I'm going to need to do something else."

"I know of a job you're good at, pays well, and you would have health insurance."

"Yeah, I don't suppose the boss might be you." That got me a smile. "I think Morelli might have a problem with me working next to you every day."

"You could work part time, whenever you can. Morelli would want what's best for you."

"You're probably right. Especially since he'd know I would be safe considering the latest threat."

"Threat?"

"Morelli got a note that he thinks mentions threatening me."

"I'll set up a detail."

I gave him a sly smile. "Morelli thought you would. You two seem to know each other so well, whereas I can't seem to figure out either one of you. Since you're both being so civil about the whole thing, maybe we should get together before the appointment to go over things."

"I'll clear my Friday schedule. Let me know when and where."

"Alright then. I'll let Morelli know." I yawned. "I hate to make you go, but this whole thing is making me exhausted."

"Go to bed Babe. Come in to work tomorrow if you feel up to it."

"One more thing, how did you know?"

"There are Rangeman cameras in the bonds office." Blank face up.

"So Rangeman knows too. Great."

"Cal was watching the camera and explained that you walked into the bathroom and came out crying. I don't think that he especially put together that you were pregnant, just that you were upset. Whether you tell them or not is up to you."

"Oh, ok. Goodnight Ranger."

"Goodnight Babe."

I went back to bed thinking how did I possibly escape two rounds of this without the slightest raised voice? Are they really that concerned about my delicate condition? I didn't really care all that much, all I wanted was to get to sleep and hope like hell my dinner stayed down.

I woke up the next morning early again waiting for my breakfast to make a reappearance, but I was able to keep it down. I went to the kitchen and scoured the cabinets for something that sounded edible. I found a box of crackers and ate a few. I chucked one to my best friend in a cage. "Rex, I don't know how, but those both went way too well. I don't know what to make of them. What about you? Do you have a preference?" He continued to run on his wheel. So unhelpful.

I checked my phone messages to see my mother had gotten wind of my delicate condition and started ordering wedding cake. Two messages, one from mom checking to see if I'm making it to dinner on Friday night and one from Lula telling me I better make it in today. Mom sounded too calm to know, so the girls must have kept quiet. I suppose I owe it to them for keeping secrets by stopping in this morning. Plus it might help to have someone to bounce this off of. They really took it way too well. As for my mother, I don't know about seeing my family and who would make it to the table after our appointment.

I got dressed and snapped my black jeans shut. I had a moment to myself thinking that in a short time I would no longer be able to wear them. I decided that I would pull on a black tank top so I could enjoy this figure while I still had it and I would be dressed for Rangeman if I decided to go into work. I would probably need to go in to sign paperwork anyway. How weird will that be in a building full of men with ESP and me with the inability to pull off a blank face.

I pulled in the office around 9 and they were both in there. They both stopped talking as soon as I walked in. Lula spoke first, "I got doughnuts, but you'd better spill first."

I eyed her down. "Boston Cremes?"

"I got at least two here."

"Fine. Since apparently the secret is still safe, or at least hasn't reached my mother yet." I shot a look towards Vinnie's office. "Duck lover?"

"He just left to bail someone out." Connie threw out.

"Ok, here goes. Joe came over last night with dinner. And he took it well, really well. He was really happy until he realized the other part. Then he kind of got quiet. But he never yelled, he never got mad, he even blamed himself."

"Aww, Steph. That's good news, right? I mean, hasn't Joe been wanting to have kids for a while now?" Connie said.

"I dunno, we didn't really talk about it much. Probably because I broke out in hives at the thought of getting pregnant or married."

"And what about Batman." Lula interjected.

"Ranger woke me up at midnight and almost seemed shocked at the situation. He offered me a job at Rangeman so I don't have to chase down dangerous skips and have health insurance. I know he wasn't planning on ever having another kid, but he didn't seem upset."

"So now they both know and they are both ok with it, but are they ok with each other?" Connie countered.

"That's the million dollar question. They're both coming with me to the appointment, and I'm going to try to meet up with them beforehand to work things out."

Lula broke out laughing. "You're gonna put those two alpha dogs in a room together and don't think they're gonna tear each other apart. You're crazy!"

"I don't want to keep either of them from this. It's not fair. So I guess I'll just make sure they aren't killing each other and try to get through this for the next three weeks or so... Damn, this is going to suck!"

"So what happens now?" Connie looked at me with a smile.

"Now I go to Rangeman and fill out my employment paperwork and hope this doesn't set Morelli off."

"You going to tell him?"

"Of course, next chance I get…"

_Disclaimer: I knew I was a FanFiction junkie, and spend way too much time reading. But now, I am a full blow review addict. Please leave one!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Janet's characters' I'm just having fun._

**Chapter 4**

I barely got my car started when my phone rang. I rolled my eyes wondering which potential dad was calling to check up on me already. It was Morelli. "Hello."

"Did you keep dinner down?" He didn't sound like his usual playful self, he sounded… tense.

"I did, thank you. Did you sleep at all last night after you left?"

"Not much. Did Ranger visit you after I left?"

And so it begins. "Yes, he did."

"Oh… Did he stay the night?"

I rolled my eyes again. "No, he did not stay the night." Joe must have let out the breath he was holding in. "Since we are on the Ranger topic I should probably let you know that he offered me a job so that I don't have to chase dangerous skips and I'll have health insurance."

"That's a relief. I didn't want to try to force you to quit, but I feel better knowing that you're safe."

"Really? So you're totally ok with me working at Rangeman? With Ranger. Seeing him every day? That doesn't bother you at all?"

"I didn't say it doesn't bother me, I said I like knowing that you are safe."

Who was this guy? I think my voice was ratcheting up a few decibels. "What gives? You've been giving me hell about hanging out with Ranger for the past two years. Now you're ok with it because I'm safe? I'm not buying it Morelli."

He blew out another long sigh. "Cupcake, I can't fight with you right now. If I start fighting with you, you're going to run, and you're going to run straight to him. I won't lose you now. Not because of my own stupidity and temper."

Ok, so that made sense. I was still worked up though, and couldn't seem to reign myself in. In my defense I blame the pregnancy hormones. "So you're just going to be mellow Joe for the next three to four weeks and then what? What happens when the results come back and everything goes to hell?"

"I am going to be whatever you want for as long as you want regardless of some paternity test."

Ok, now I was seriously confused and this was way too deep for a phone conversation. "Ok, I will keep that in mind. So did you need anything else?"

"I was going to tell you the crime lab checked over the note. No fingerprints or DNA. I think we may try to run the recent parolees through my old case log to see if anything pops up. So as for now please try to be careful."

"I will."

"By the way, have you told anyone about your pregnancy? It must not have gotten around the Burg yet because my mother hasn't called me to tell me it's not too late to get married before you have the baby."

I gave him a small laugh. "My own mother hasn't called me yet with the exact same demand, so I think our secret is safe for the moment. The only people who know so far are Lula and Connie and that's because they caught me and demanded I take a pregnancy test."

"And you think the secret is safe there?" I could mentally imagine him shaking his head with disbelief.

"Sure. It's not like there are other options now. But after I go into a doctor's office with two men, I think word might get out. We need a game plan."

"How about I bring dinner tonight to go over it?"

I was starting to get a feeling that I was going to be smothered by both men relatively soon. But I also didn't want to have to deal with dinner, so I had no better options. "Sounds like a plan."

"Later Cupcake."

"Later Morelli."

By the time I finished with Joe I was pulling into Rangeman and parking in an open spot. I noticed all of Ranger's vehicles perfectly arranged, so he must be here. I gave a finger wave to the guys on camera and took the elevator up to 5. A few of the guys acknowledged me with head nods or said hello as I walked down to Ranger's office. I still felt like I was going to throw up, but at least I was less nervous than two days ago when I knocked on his door. "Enter."

I decided to put on my fake smile and try to get through this the best I could. "Good morning boss."

The corners of his mouth almost turned up in a smile. "Come in and sit down. I have the paperwork here for you, but I thought we could bring Tank in to go over the paperwork."

I frowned at him. "Does Tank know?"

"Not about your pregnancy. He knows that you are being hired. I didn't think you would really want this to get out right now."

"I don't, I just… I'm worried about what the guys will think about me working here."

"Probably the same as they always do. Babe, you're really good at doing searches. But we think there are a lot of other areas around here that you would fit in."

I looked at him with a puzzled look on my face. These guys were a bunch of mercenaries who made Rambo look tame. And he thought that I would fit in here? "I think you're crazy."

He pushed a piece of paper across the table. "We wrote this up for you. It's a job description. You can choose to just do searches like you had been doing or you can take this job. You can cross off anything on there you don't want to do and we'll work from there."

I looked through the position description title: Office Manager. He wanted me to run the office? I had a rush of panic. I tried to take a deep breath and I read through the rest of the document. He had me running searches, which I was totally fine with. That was all I figured I would be doing. But this went further that I would be doing client meetings, human resource functions, creating schedules. I felt overwhelmed. I finally looked up at him. "Where did all this come from?"

"I talked to Tank about the fact that you might be looking to come on here in a more permanent position and we both came to the conclusion that you could do all of that better than we do. You wouldn't scare clients in meetings, you read people really well, and we hate doing paperwork."

"Do you expect me to work full time?"

"Like I said work whatever hours you are comfortable. I don't want you stressing out."

I starting thinking about the job, it sounded reasonable. And I had no concerns about getting shot or rolling in garbage. There was that one big concern though. "So what happens when the test comes back and the baby isn't yours? Are you really going to want to see me every day?"

"Why would anything change?" I just stared at him and I could see him getting frustrated with me. "Babe, you've got a lot going through your head right now. Let's have that conversation later. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

I fidgeted a little in my chair. I was starting to feel like a dog toy and they were playing tug of war. "I'm having dinner with Morelli tonight."

I thought I saw a smidgen on tension on Ranger's face. "Tomorrow night then."

"That sounds great." I gave him a small smile; this was going to be exhausting for the three of us tripping over each other.

"Are you ready for Tank to come in now?" I nodded. He pressed a button on his phone. "We're ready." He spoke into the receiver then looked back up at me. "Breathe Babe."

Tank came in and sat down next to me. He had his Rangeman blank face on and started sifting through some paperwork he had. "I see Ranger has given you the position description we created, do you have any questions?"

I could only shake my head, words left my brain. I could feel my nausea kicking in and Ranger leaned under his desk. The next thing I know a small desk trashcan is in my hands and I am bent over in my chair losing my breakfast. I kept my head down for a minute afterwards, completely embarrassed and unaware of how to play this off in front of Tank. I finally set the trashcan next to me and looked up at Ranger.

"You want me to take that?" he offered. I could feel his eyes asking me a question, I just for the life of me couldn't figure it out.

"I'm going to keep it here just in case."

Tank looked back and forth between the two of us. "Either one of you want to let me in on what's going on?"

Ranger just stared at me and then I understood. He was asking me if I wanted to let Tank in on this considering the display I just had. I know that I was probably going to be embarrassing myself like this a lot and it was unlikely that I would be able to keep all suspicions at bay, but I just wasn't ready to out myself.

Ranger saved me. "Stephanie just isn't feeling well today."

Tank shook his head slightly. "If she isn't feeling well then shouldn't she be home?"

I could see the lines hardening on Ranger's face and before he could respond I blurted it out. "I'm pregnant." Apparently my mouth was not on board with the keeping it under wraps plan.

Tank shook his head some more looking completely bewildered. "Oh… uh… congratulations, I guess… To both of you?"

And the question was out there. And I had no answer. "You ask a lot of questions." Ranger replied as he held Tank's gaze. Tank knew well enough to drop it there and I am assuming he figured it all out for himself.

He gave a single nod and turned back to me. "Hard candy."

Now it was my turn to look puzzled. "What?"

"Hard candy, it helps with the nausea. When my sister was pregnant, she kept a load of hard candy with her and popped one every time she started feeling sick. I think they have special ones at maternity stores."

"Oh, thanks. I'll try that."

"Can we get back to going over this paperwork?" Ranger was getting frustrated and he wanted to get Tank out of his office quickly. He did take a few seconds to hand me a peppermint from his desk, which I was very grateful for. We finished going through the rest of the paperwork and I signed a bunch of forms. Honestly, this was the best job I had ever had and I was starting to feel a little better about things. Tank left once we had gone through everything and offered me any assistance that was needed. I had thought to ask him to keep our secret to himself, but I knew Ranger had done all that with just a look. "So what is your policy with the rest of the guys once they start noticing things? I doubt any of them would come out and directly ask, but if you keep getting sick in front of everyone they are going to be concerned."

"I hadn't really thought about it. I didn't mean to blurt it out right now, but I think the pregnancy remove my mouth filter."

"Babe."

"So does everyone else know about my new job?"

"The core team: Tank, Bobby, Lester, and myself. We'll have a staff meeting to announce to everyone else this afternoon if you feel up to staying."

"I feel fine now. Actually a little hungry."

"Let's go get you something to eat from the breakroom. Then we can get you started."

We both stood up and I realized, the entire time I had been here Ranger had made no attempt to kiss me or made any sort of sexual comment. Has he lost interest in me now that I'm pregnant? "How should I act around you in front of the men?"

He closed the distance between us and cupped my neck with his hand. He leaned down and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on my lips. "You can act however you want to act. You can come to me whenever for whatever you need. I'm following your lead here."

"Oh geez."

"Yeah. Come on, we need to get you fed."

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. I got settled into how to complete my new duties, and as promised I was introduced to the entire staff as the new office manager. Everyone seemed very happy about having less paperwork to do, so it seemed like a good deal for everyone. I was feeling pretty good at the end of the day and I went to the store and bought myself a bag of hard candy. I had left work pretty early and I was wondering if I had time to go home and take a nap before my dinner with Morelli.


	5. Chapter 5

_Ok, so I'm really bummed because I wanted to try to get both dates into one chapter, but this took longer than expected, so I thought at least this way something got out tonight. I'll try to get the Ranger date out tomorrow. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

**Chapter 5**

I had barely made it into my apartment when my phone started ringing. I checked the clock and it was 5pm. Looks like I wouldn't get a chance for that nap. "Hey Morelli."

"Hey Cupcake. Is there any chance you would be up for coming over here for dinner?"

"Well, I was going to try to get a nap in before dinner."

He was undeterred. "If you come over now, you can go upstairs and take a nap while I get dinner ready and we'll eat around 7."

Dinner and a nap and Morelli. What more could a girl want? "That sounds great. I'll just get changed and be over."

"Go ahead and let yourself in, in case I'm not there yet. I'll see you soon."

"Ok, bye."

I went into my bedroom and sorted through my clothes. I knew I needed to change out of my Rangeman black that was sure to be a fight starter. Although when I thought about it Morelli haven't been in a fight since Hawaii. I decided that tonight I was going to get to the bottom of the Mr. Nice Guy routine. It was probably a bitchy thing to do, but I was tired of everyone handling me with kid gloves. I pulled on a pair of jeans that still luckily fit and a stretchy low neck t-shirt. I put some food in Rex's cage and left for Morelli's house.

When I pulled up, I noticed that his car was absent. I went ahead and cautiously opened the door as a mound of orange fur whizzed past me. I waited for Bob to do his business and he came back in with me so we could have some petting time. I found it strange how I missed him when I was away for a while. And how appropriate since now I was almost attached to a dog, I'll actually have a baby to be attached to soon. My time with Bob was wearing me out, so I went up to Morelli's bed to sleep. I don't know if it was the pregnancy that was tiring me or how his bed smelled comfortable like him, but I was out in minutes.

I felt someone stroking my hair and arm and I opened my eyes to see Morelli laying in bed next to me. He gave me a smile and tucked a curl behind my ear. "Time to wake up Cupcake. Dinner's ready."

"Mmm… Thanks for letting me nap here… It smells great."

"I hope it agrees with your stomach. Come on, let me help you up."

He held out his arm and pulled me up out of bed. We went downstairs and I was shocked at the nicely set table. For a guy who eats most meals on his couch, he really went all out. "I made spaghetti and salad with some bread. Does that sound ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Can I help you with anything?"

"No, just sit down. I'd have everything on the table already, but I was afraid it wouldn't be there by the time we got downstairs." Ah Bob, he would eat the entire house if he could figure out how to open his mouth wide enough.

"So what's the special occasion?" I yelled at him through the kitchen.

He walked in and brought two plates and set one at his space and one in front of me. He cupped my chin and leaned down to look me in the eyes. "You're having my baby. I think that's pretty special." Then he kissed me. Not a hot and heavy let's rush to the bedroom kiss, but a gentle loving kiss. He broke away and gave me a thorough look over as he walked over to his chair and sat down. "And you look absolutely beautiful tonight."

I don't know if it was the kiss or that I had just woken up, but I felt very disoriented. "Joe… I don't want to ruin anything here… but you remember this may not be your baby."

"I do remember very well, but I have to hope that it is mine."

"I understand, but what if it isn't. I don't want you to get your hopes up just to be crushed."

"It doesn't matter to me whose baby it is. I just want you and I want you to be happy."

"So you would stay with me even if this Ranger's baby? Even if everyone saw us with this baby and knew it wasn't yours. Can you really tell me you'd be ok with that?"

"If it meant I get you forever, then yes. I will love that baby whether I'm the father or not because it is your baby."

"I'm having trouble believing that. Two months ago you would have been screaming and yelling and waving your arms around. What's changed?"

He smiled. "I'm sure my Italian temper days aren't going away. But everything has changed. Going through everything in the past month or so, nearly losing you to Dave and then Razzle Dazzle and the whole Hawaii incident. It was enough to change how I felt and I know that I have to try harder if I want to keep you in my life and I do. Now, why don't we start eating before everything gets cold."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I was starving and I had no response to his declaration. Everything tasted so great. "Did you say you made this yourself?"

"Well, I made the spaghetti myself. I picked up the bread and salad on the way home. I wanted to try to get you something healthy but edible."

"This is great. I was starving. I'd be afraid of gaining a bunch of weight if I wasn't losing half of what I ate."

That got me a small laugh. "Did you get sick at all today?"

"Just once, at work. Unfortunately it was right in front of Tank, so now he knows. But he mentioned to me that his sister used some kind of hard candy to keep the nausea down, so I'm going to try that and see how it works."

He tensed up a little at the mention of my new employment. "So are you going to be telling people or are you still trying to keep it quiet? I didn't figure you really wanted it getting around."

"I'm definitely trying to contain it. It's just hard to do when people keep seeing me getting sick everywhere with no other explanation. I'll make sure and not do it at the precinct. The last thing I need is 20 detectives on the case."

"Good point. So how was your first day at the new job?"

I took a deep breath and decided that he's been taking everything so well, that talking a little about Rangeman should be fine. "It was good. They offered me a job as the office manager, so I was kind of surprised by that. Apparently they all hate doing paperwork and client meetings and for someone who can't chase around bad guys, there isn't a whole lot else to do around there."

He thought about it for a while and I think I could see wheels turning in his head. "I think you would be really good at that job. You're a natural with people."

I raised my eyebrows. "Ok, now tell me what you're really thinking."

"See how well you can read people?" He smiled. "I'm not shocked that Ranger is offering you a better job. I just wonder what his angle is."

"Why does there have to be an angle? Maybe he really thinks I'll be good at the job." I don't know why, but I could see myself trying to pick a fight here. He's doing everything he can to make me comfortable and I'm acting crazy.

"I do think you will be good at the job, I'm not questioning why they gave it to you. I just think Manoso is trying to keep you close by."

"And what are you doing with dinner every night?"

"Trying to take care of you, spoil you, hell, date you. I'm trying to do everything I can to prove that I love you and I want this to work."

I just stared at him. I guess this wasn't an all bad proposition, and it was probably a more realistic solution than the previous bake off. I focused harder on eating dinner and making a point to finish as much as I could. I decided to try a little flirting. "If this is a date, then is there dessert?"

That got me a big smile. "I have birthday cake." He got up and brought me back a big slice.

I ate my cake with enthusiasm. "So what do we do on our date after dinner?"

Morelli shrugged his shoulders. "We could watch the game and make out on the couch."

I had to laugh at that. "I don't think I've made out with anyone since high school."

"Who did you make out with in high school?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Now I'm curious. I need names so I can know who I have to go beat up."

"You are not beating up anyone from high school. Seriously. I didn't get around nearly as much as you."

"Yeah, that was a different time, a different man. I'm all yours now."

"Ok, let's go watch the game."

So we got up and sat on the couch. Morelli put his arm around me and I leaned into him. It was comfortable. After a little while I turned my head up to look at him. He really was attractive and I leaned forward to start kissing him. It was gentle at first, but started getting heavier as we fell onto the couch. I have no idea how long we laid there making out before we finally broke apart. I had to pull down my shirt and readjust my bra. He smiled down at me. "Yeah, I missed that from high school."

"It is getting late though, I should really head home." I looked at the clock. I was really tired, but I didn't know if staying the night was a good idea.

"You could stay."

I sat up and sighed. "I don't know. How would you feel if I stayed the night in Ranger's bed?"

He tensed up. "Haven't you already?"

"Everything has changed since then."

"We aren't doing anything. It's just sleeping. You're too tired to drive home. Even Ranger would want you to stay here where you are safe."

I really was tired. "Ok, let's go up to bed."

He felt like he won a little battle and softened up for me. He held out his hand and led me up to his bedroom. He pulled out one of his shirts and handed it to me. "I'll sleep in the guest room if it will make you more comfortable."

I shook my head. "Stay. I'll sleep better with you next to me."

We both got changed and got into bed. He lay down next to me and I snuggled into him. Once more I felt the comfort of Morelli and fell fast asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

**Chapter 6**

I awoke the next morning to Morelli's alarm going off at 6am. He leaned over to turn it off and reached back around me and held me close to him. "You have no idea how much I miss waking up to you when you aren't here," he whispered in my ear.

I turned and smiled at him. He looked so sexy and I had very dirty thoughts regarding how sexy he looked, but unfortunately my bladder had other ideas and I was jumping out of bed to run to the bathroom. I felt a little nauseous, but I thought I could keep it down. When I came back into the room Morelli was nowhere to be found. I got dressed and went downstairs. I found Joe in the kitchen in some sweatpants making toast. I was again thrown by how good he looked and all the things I wanted to do to him in the kitchen. The toast popped up and he buttered it and handed it to me as he kissed me gently. Before I could deepen the kiss he pulled away.

"I was going to make you a cup of coffee, but I didn't know if that was ok for you."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I hadn't really thought about it a whole lot. I guess when we go to the appointment that they'll give me a list of things I can't do or eat now."

"Mhmm… Speaking of the appointment…"

"Yes, I think Ranger would like to go as well." He nodded and I smiled to myself. Sometimes it's nice to think I might have ESP as well. "Will that be a problem? I thought maybe the three of us could get together before the appointment to have lunch and talk about things."

"Probably a good idea for a public place. Less chance of us trying to beat the shit out of each other."

"Ok then, it's a date. Now I need to get going so I can stop home and change before work."

"You know, Cupcake, if we got married you wouldn't have to work."

I rolled my eyes at him and felt a fire start inside me. "I want to work. And I like this job."

He held his hands up in surrender. "That's fine; I'm just giving you options." He approached me once more and kissed my forehead. "Have a good day at work. I love you."

"I love you too." And I threw my purse over my shoulder and marched out to my car. He gave up too easily and I needed something to release the tension that had been building up in me over the past week. Between the sight of Morelli without his shirt and the passion that would normally accompany a fight over the comments he made about me at work, I was starting to get a little worked up. I needed to leave before I threw him down on the floor and had my way with him. And now I was going to work and having dinner with Mr. Sex himself. My brain is telling me that having sex with either of them right now is counterproductive to the situation and my lady parts are not speaking to me for passing up a sure thing. Before I knew it I was in my house and already dressed in my new Rangeman clothes.

I drove to Rangeman on autopilot. A million jumbled thoughts were running through my head about babies and food and sex. Mostly sex. Naked Ranger, naked Morelli, back and forth. Either one sounded appealing at the moment. Damn pregnancy hormones, I needed to banish those thoughts to Siberia before they got me into more trouble. I gave my finger wave to the front desk guys and headed to Ranger's office. Some of the guys would smile or greet me. I knocked on his door and waited for the command to enter.

"Good morning boss." I said in a sing song voice and gave him my overly enthusiastic smile.

"Your sarcasm is welcome as always."

"You wouldn't know how to appreciate me any other way."

"Did you need me for something?" His blank face was up, so I assumed he was hard at work or I was annoying him.

"Just to see if there was anything special you needed me to work on today."

"Nothing new. Are you still coming for dinner tonight?" Apparently not that annoyed.

"I'll be there. You know where to find me if you need me." I turned and walked back to my cubicle before it got any more awkward. I got started on creating the next week's schedule. I opened my top drawer for a pen and found a big bowl of hard candies. I guessed this was Tank's doing and was so grateful I immediately popped one. I made it almost to 11 before I started getting hungry. I went to the break room for a sandwich. The turkey looked like it had the least potential for nausea so I tried that. I sat at a table for about 5 minutes before I was joined by Bobby and Lester.

Lester leaned into me. "Isn't it a little early for lunch?"

"I don't consider this lunch. This is a pre-lunch snack."

Bobby laughed at me. "You look way too good to eat like you do."

Something about this struck me the wrong way. I knew that I was going to gain weight, but the thought of not looking like me anymore was just too much. I started tearing up. Both guys looked at me with shock on their faces. Lester tried first, "Steph, are you ok?"

I tried to brush it off. "I'm fine. Really. It's nothing."

"You don't seem fine. I didn't mean to upset you. You look great Steph."

I sniffed a little. I needed to get control of myself before anyone started suspecting anything. "Sorry, still getting over last couple of weeks. So did you guys just get back from something?"

They went on talking about their takedown and how smooth it went. I finally excused myself to get back to my desk. The rest of the day went by uneventfully. I raided the break room again in the afternoon hoping for something with sugar, but settled on some yogurt. At about 4 my eyes were struggling to stay open. I went to Ranger's office again. "Do you mind if I run upstairs for a nap before dinner? I think I'm going to fall asleep at my desk."

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Go ahead. I'll see you up there in a little bit."

I used my key fob and collapsed on Ranger's orgasmic sheets. The next thing I knew, I felt fingers running through my hair. I think I moaned and rolled over to look at his face. Ranger was sitting up next to me on the bed and moved from stroking my hair to my face. "Ella brought dinner up. Do you feel like eating?"

"Mmm… dinner sounds good."

"Damn, I was hoping you would want to just stay in here."

That had me moving. "In that case, we definitely need to get up for dinner." I jumped up from the bed and he followed laughing softly at me. I went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water since I was no longer allowed the wine. He came up behind me and kissed me softly behind my ear.

"Do you know how hard it is to concentrate all day knowing that you are thirty feet outside my door?"

I smiled at the thought I might have some effect on him. I couldn't get sucked in, I tried teasing him instead. "Is that considered being aware of your surroundings?"

He nuzzled my neck and pulled away. We sat down at the table and started eating. Ella had laid out a wonderful dinner as usual, there was salmon steaks, brown rice and steamed vegetables. I looked around hoping that pregnancy meant that dessert would magically appear, but I did not see any at first glance.

"How are things? Is the new job working for you?"

"It's great for me. It will take some time for you to tell if it's working out for the rest of you."

"Everyone seems to be very happy with the arrangement as long as you are." After a small silence I thought he almost looked a tad nervous. "How was everything with Morelli last night?"

"It was fine. He seems really mellow about the whole deal."

"I'm sure he is."

I sighed. "How are you taking this? I didn't think you really wanted any more children."

He turned his head ever so slightly. "I didn't. This caught me by surprise. But the more I think about it, the more comfortable I am with it."

"I'm glad to hear that. It's not like I planned this or anything, but I didn't want you to feel trapped into anything."

"Babe, I want to be with you. This has only pushed me a little faster than I anticipated."

I was dumbfounded. "You want to be with me?"

He smiled at me. "Yes, I want to be with you. I've wanted to be with you for a while, but things are starting to change in my life. I'm a little more stable now and I can see a relationship with you as possible."

"That is the most I have ever heard you talk about yourself."

"Only for you, Babe."

"Is there also dessert only for me?" I really could use some dessert before I really jumped on top of someone.

"I think I may have kept a Tastycake from the last time you stayed here."

"I can't believe you didn't rid your kitchen of all traces of sugar." I sarcastically gasped.

"I was hoping you would eventually be back."

I smiled at the thought and stood up to sneak through his cabinets. As I reached up the shelf, I felt his arm wrap around my waist splaying his hand across my belly. "I'm really starting to warm to the fact that you could be carrying my child."

"You know it may not be yours." I could barely recognize my voice.

"I know. Doesn't change anything." Then he turned me around and cupped my chin up to kiss me. We started getting heavier and I felt his hand reaching up to cup my breast. Finally I forced myself to pull away.

"I should really be going now." But there wasn't much conviction in my words and he could sense it.

"I think you should stay."

"Nothing is going to happen."

"I just want you in my bed. Come on, you're exhausted."

I didn't fight him. We walked back to his bedroom and he stripped my clothes off and pulled one of his black t-shirts over my head before I could even realize what was happening. We both got in bed and he pulled me into his side and I peacefully drifted into sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I wanted to say thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I really enjoy reading all of them, so please leave me one even if you want to complain. I have no problems explaining anything not revealing and love a good debate. _

_Ok, so I hate to give away anything, but I did want to give you a little heads up because I have been hearing what you're saying. First, this is a two part story and I hope that by the end that both sides are happy with it. And second, Stephanie would never allow anyone to make her choices for her, not even her own baby. Cryptic enough for you? I hope so!_

_So with that being said, please stick with me. Things start getting interesting now, at least from my perspective. So enjoy!_

_I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

**Chapter 7**

I hear a rustling in the bedroom as I woke up. There was Ranger just coming out of the bathroom, blissfully naked with just a towel wrapped around his waist. I think I may have drooled. He climbed in bed and pulled me up against him. "Good morning" he nuzzled against my neck.

I snuggled up to him before my bladder pulled me away and to the bathroom.

"Are you ok?" he called in through the door.

"I'm fine, I just have less bladder control these days." I yelled back at him. I was really hoping that if I stayed in here long enough, he would be dressed by the time I got out. I didn't need the added temptation.

When I finally braved it out, Ranger was already dressed in his usual black cargo pants and t-shirt. The clothes made him look just as sexy and I had no idea how I was going to get through a sugarless breakfast without jumping him. The sooner we got down to work the better!

"Ella brought breakfast if you're ready to be up."

"Breakfast sounds great right now. I'll take a shower afterwards." We went to the table and sat down to scrambled egg whites, yogurt and granola with fresh fruit. I began craving some worthless pancakes and syrup, but still ate everything for breakfast. I was feeling really happy that I didn't have too much nausea this morning and hoped it would continue through the day.

"So what are your plans for the day?"

"I figured I needed to make a trip to the bonds office today, and then I'll probably see what I can accomplish on my mounds of paperwork. What are your plans for the day?"

"I'm in the office in the morning, but I'll be free for most of the afternoon. Something usually comes up."

"Do you ever just take a day off?" I blurted out. I grimaced internally because I hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh.

He just smiled at me. "Not many. When I do, you're usually there."

"I would think any time with me would be considered work."

"I don't see it that way. I do need to get down for a staff meeting, and you should probably be there too."

"I probably should, my boss is a total hardass. But I'm going to jump in the shower first."

"Then I can think about you being in my shower."

Yep, I needed to get in the shower now. I got up and took a pair of my Rangeman clothes with me so I didn't have to risk coming out in a towel. I made good use of his shower massager and took a long shower before I finished. Ranger was missing when I finished doing my hair and getting dressed. I took the elevator down to five with 15 minutes to spare before the staff meeting. His door was cracked so I peeked in. He waved for me to come in, then got up and met me halfway. He pulled me into him and kissed me. I vaguely heard my phone ringing and thought that whoever it was could go to hell when he barely pulled away. "You should probably get that."

I growled and pulled out my phone. My heart skipped a beat before I was able to answer it. "Hey."

"Morning Cupcake."

"What's up?"

"I wanted to call you about the envelope guy. Are you at Rangeman?"

"Uh huh."

"You're in his office right now, aren't you?"

"I am." Oh shit, I didn't like where this was going.

"I don't think I want to know where you slept last night."

"It's probably a good idea to stick to work topics."

He sighed. "Put me on speaker." I turned it on and held out between us. "We've got a list of recent parolees who I worked cases on. No one really pops out at me, but it's not a very long list. I thought I'd send it to you to see if anything catches your eye."

"Stephanie can run searches on each of them. Anyone you want us to check out?"

"None of them really fit the profile as behind the scenes stalker. Butch Harrison was probably the most pissed on the list and kind of a loaner. We're having their parole officers bring them for questioning."

"We might drive by this afternoon to check out Butch."

"Keep our girl safe."

I was suddenly snapped back into the conversation. "I'm right here you know."

"Yeah, I know. Try to stay out of trouble. I'll see you both tomorrow." And he hung up.

"Asshole!" I yelled at my phone. Then I turned to Ranger. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

He took a step back. "I know that. That's why I'm taking you with me to do surveillance on Butch Harrison."

"Oh. Well fine then. Come get me when you're ready to leave." And I turned and started to walk away. Ranger grabbed my hand and pulled me back into him and kissed me again.

"You shouldn't walk away angry Babe." Then he let me go and walked over to sit down at his desk. I walked away a little slower this time. I went to the conference room and was thankfully alone as I tried to pull myself together. I definitely needed to sleep at home tomorrow night. After the meeting was over I sat down at my desk and tried to concentrate on running searches on the list Morelli had sent me. It took me most of the morning and nothing really seemed to jump out at me. A little after noon I got up to grab some lunch. Ranger found me in the break room scoping out the lunch offerings.

"I'd take you out for lunch, but we have a bad guy to tail."

"I don't suppose we could tail him through a drive through."

"Highly unlikely. Grab something and let's go; you need to stop by the bond's office first." He grabbed a sandwich and bottled water and handed them to me and grabbed one of each for himself. He led me back to my desk and pulled out my belt with stun gun, self defense spray, and gun. "You work for Rangeman now and if you leave the office you are packing."

I leaned in to whisper to him. "I won't be able to fit this belt soon." I would weasel out of wearing a gun if I could.

"You will carry this with you at all times especially when there are people out there threatening you." He whispered back forcefully as he secured it around my waist. "I protect what's mine." Jeez.

We got into one of the black SUVs and took off. Our first stop was the bonds office and when the girls saw me coming they immediately jumped up to start asking me questions. Once they saw Ranger behind me, they clammed up. There were two Rangeman files and one for me. Ranger made sure we put all three together and reluctantly handed them to me. As office manager, I would be doling out who worked on which files. I don't know if he was ready for me to be out there being with any bad guys while I was pregnant. If the skip was anyone remotely dangerous, I was just fine with some other Rangemen handling that file. I promised the girls that we would get together for lunch sometime this weekend or early next week. I'm sure I'd have a lot to tell them after tomorrow.

Within 5 minutes of leaving the bonds office we had pulled onto Butch's street. His car was in the driveway so we assumed he was home. Ranger sat in silence and stared at the house. I sorted through my lists of printouts from the searches. "What can you tell me from your research?"

I thumbed through to the search on Butch. "Arrested for killing his wife after catching her in bed with another man, the other guy got away. He got a pretty light sentence because it was deemed a crime of passion. Served most of his time, got out early for good behavior. Morelli was the lead detective on the case and Butch was pretty pissed about the way Morelli talked to him and made some vague threats during interrogation."

"What does your gut tell you?"

I looked at the list Morelli had sent to us. "I don't know. Nothing is really popping out to me as saying any of them are psychopaths. I mean, this isn't the only place to look for people pissed at him. Hell, I get pissed and threaten him at least once a month."

The corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up. "Babe."

I settled in my seat a little further. "I'm just saying, there is more than one way to ruin a person's life. And I know Morelli screwed half of Trenton growing up. I think there are other angles we aren't looking at. Look at Dave Brewer." I shivered a little at the recollection of that incident.

"Fair enough. Let's keep an eye on this guy for another hour or two just to see if there's anything suspicious and then we'll leave."

"Ok, I can wait that long. So… Is there a long list of Ranger ex-lovers waiting for a second chance?"

"Dangerous waters Babe." His blank face was up and he wasn't going to give in, but it was just too easy.

True to his word, we stayed for another hour and nothing happened. We drove back to Rangeman and when I got to my desk it was already time to go. "I think I'm going to head home for the day."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Look at me, I've got a gun and stun gun and spray. I am ready to take on anyone."

"It's about protecting what is most important." I realized the cameras were looking at us, so that was his indication that I should be extra vigilant to protect my baby.

"Always. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded and headed to his office and I took the elevator back down to my car.

I thought about driving to get something to eat, but I was too tired and not especially feeling like taking on a crazy stalker if he jumped me so I drove straight home. Once there I heated up some mac and cheese and ate with fervor. How I missed the high fat flavor! I realized I wasn't so much sleep tired as I was physically tired. I looked around at the room and all I saw were memories. Making love to Joe here, Ranger pressing me against a wall there, getting chained to a shower rod and then getting unchained from a shower rod. There was too much going on in the apartment, and it was such a nice day outside so I ventured out on my fire escape. I really wanted a glass of wine, but I knew those days were over for at least 9 months. I looked out towards the parking lot and noticed a black SUV that seemed out of place. I studied it trying to see if I could identify it when I noticed someone coming up my fire escape.

I never expected him to be climbing up to see me, but here he was. "Tank, what are you doing here?"

"I was just sitting in my vehicle peacefully when someone thought it was a good idea to come sit on her fire escape, out in the open, waiting for a sniper or someone to attack her."

"Oh shit, I didn't think about that. I was just trying to breathe."

"Feeling some pressure?"

I blew out a sigh. Pressure felt like too light of a word. "More like two freight trains colliding on me with loving gentleness."

He laughed. "I thought so. And since you had nothing but Ranger food for the past day, I thought I'd bring something to help." He pulled up a grocery bag with two pints of ice cream.

I grabbed him into the biggest hug I could manage. "God bless you! I'll go get some spoons." I jumped back in and got us two spoons. He was sitting up against the railing next to where I had just left, so I sat down next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I didn't know which kind you liked so I got two I liked and hoped one would work for you." He offered me mint chocolate chip and rocky road.

I grabbed the rocky road from him. "The name seems appropriate with my situation."

He let out a very full laugh. "I know I suck at this, but do you want to talk about it?"

I tried to raise an eyebrow at him. "Do you really want to hear about me diddling your boss?"

More laughter, who knew Tank had a sense of humor? "You can leave out the sensitive details."

"It's pretty simple, I'm sure you know most of this already. Joe and I go on again off again and we were on, but agreed to see other people. Then his grandma put the Vordo spell on me which made me jump Ranger. Then I asked Morelli to go with me to Hawaii, but he stays back and works. Ranger meets me to pick up a skip, Morelli shows up, big fight. Then last week of hell and Razzle Dazzle. Now I'm here and pregnant." I spit it all out before my brain could register that I spilled my guts to Tank. "What did you put in this ice cream?"

"It's just ice cream. I think you just wanted to get that off your chest. So now what?"

"Now either guy could be the father and they both say they want me regardless of if the baby is theirs. What am I supposed to think about that? That sounds great, but I don't think it would ever really work with either of them."

"It would bruise the ego."

"Yeah, and make me feel like a slut. Which I guess I am."

"You're not a slut. Just confused. It doesn't sound like either of them really stepped up until it was too late."

"This is true. But I can't help but wonder why they both still want me after they know I've been with the other guy."

He spent a long time looking down before answering me. I didn't know if I really wanted the answer. "If you and Morelli were seeing other people and you and Ranger didn't have a defined relationship, then maybe they both were with other people too."

"Hmmm… And I can't really be upset about it because I would be a hypocrite." It didn't matter what it would make me, I was still fuming at the thought of it.

"It's a tough spot to be in."

"And yet I'm the only one with my head in a trash can every day. That part at least isn't fair."

"Ok, I'll grant you that. So where do you go from here?"

I tried my best to put on a smile. "I go to the doctor's appointment tomorrow and take it day by day."

"I'm here if you need to talk with a guy you haven't slept with."

"I might take you up on that. Does Ranger have you stationed in my parking lot all night?"

A smile came across his face. "I volunteered."

"Then why don't you at least sleep on my couch. It's better than sitting in the SUV and you're closer to me if I need protection."

"I don't think Ranger would like that. I can't watch your car to see if a bomb is being placed."

"You can check the car tomorrow before I go. And Ranger usually does Stephanie watch asleep in my bed, so he has no room to talk. Besides… I'm thinking about leaving both of them for you anyway. You brought ice cream."

"I don't think I'm your type. But I will take you up on the couch offer. Come on, you need to get some sleep."

"Oh yeah, big day tomorrow… can't wait." I shivered a little. Maybe it's just the cold, but I had a feeling that it was more of a foreboding on the day at the doctor tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you everyone for the reviews and for sticking around. Sorry this took so long to get out, but once I started, I wanted to get it all out. Enjoy!_

_I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

**Chapter 8**

I awoke to the smell of something cooking in the other room. Then I remembered that Tank was still here. At least I hope so, stalkers don't usually make breakfast. I sat up in bed and stretched and got up and went to the bathroom again. I walked out and there was Tank frying up eggs in my one skillet. He heard me and turned towards me and smiled. "Good morning Sleeping Beauty."

"Good morning Tank. Where did you find stuff to make breakfast?" I tried to remember when I had gotten all the stuff he had laid out.

"I called Hal and he brought it up." He nodded towards my couch where I had apparently not noticed the large hulking man sitting on my couch.

His face turned red. "I hope you don't mind I came by. I brought coffee, but we didn't know how you take yours so he told me to bring you hot chocolate."

I turned to Tank and raised my eyebrows. He just nodded, so I turned back to Hal and put a smile on my face. "Thanks for that. Hot chocolate sounds great and I don't get hot breakfast often, so I appreciate you coming."

"I think everything is done, so why don't you both come to the table now." He sat plates with scrambled eggs, sausage and toast in front of each of us and one in front of himself.

"Wow Tank, I had no idea you were such a cook. You are just moved up higher on the list."

He shook his head at me. "Is it ok for you?" He asked cryptically.

I consulted my stomach which seemed fine. "It's great. Thank you."

We ate in relative silence. Hal's phone started buzzing. "I need to get in now. Tank. Steph." He nodded at each of us and left.

"Sorry for inviting him over, but you had nothing for breakfast."

I shrugged. "I've been eating poptarts."

He shook his head again. "I don't know how Ranger hasn't gone crazy on your eating yet."

I thought about it and realized something. "I think he knows better. But I work at Rangeman now and if I stay for dinner, then I'm eating at Rangeman most of the time. I think that's part of an ulterior plan."

"Possible. What time is your appointment?"

"It's at one and it's out of town. I wanted it far enough away to not worry about someone recognizing me."

"Do you need a ride out there?"

"No, I can drive myself." He tilted his head to the side questioning me. "Plus, I figure I'm going to get a call sometime offering to drive me there."

"Do you have my number?"

"Yeah, Ranger put it in my phone when he was in the wind."

"Call me if you need anything. _Anything_. Cal's on duty until one of them comes to pick you up."

"Thanks for everything."

"No problem." And he walked out the door.

I started about doing the dishes and spending some quality time with Rex. This consisted of me talking to him and him hiding in a soup can. As expected my phone rang and I smiled knowing I was right. "Hey."

"Good morning Cupcake."

"It has been a good morning so far. We'll see how the afternoon goes."

"That's why I was calling. Do you want to catch a ride with me?"

"What if I get so pissed at you and don't want to go home with you?"

He sighed. "Then you can catch a ride home with Manoso."

"What if you both piss me off?"

"I'm really trying here. Any chance of you giving me a break?"

Ok, so maybe I was being a little hard on him. "Come pick me up around 11."

"See you then."

So I tried to think about what I was going to say to both men. I kept going round and round and started questioning why I ever thought getting together was a good idea. Finally I sat on the couch and turned on the television. I didn't want to think anymore, I just wanted it over with already. The whole situation was just totally unreal, not to mention the fact that I'm now going to have a baby. At ten to 11 there was a knock on my door. He let himself in and sat down next to me on the couch and put his arm around me.

"Are you ready for this?"

That was all it took for me to completely lose it. I started bawling and leaned into his chest. He pulled me into him and patted my back. "Shhh… shhh…. Oh Cupcake, please don't cry. Shit."

"I don't think I can do this." I said between sobs.

"We can move this back another day. You don't have to do this today."

I wiped the tears off my face. "It's not just that, it's everything. I can't have a baby. I can barely take care of myself. I can't even cook!"

He gently caressed my face and pulled my chin up to look him in the eye. "Stop this. You are such a nurturing person and you don't even know it. You'll be a wonderful mother. Stop thinking about all the things you can't do and focus on what is wonderful about you."

"Why are you being so nice to me? I've been horrible to you."

"I'm not perfect. I haven't been so great to you. And I love you; I would do anything for you."

I sniffed away the last of my tears. "It's already 11, we need to get going."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I need to do this. I'm just afraid that I'm not going to like what I see of myself when we do this. Does that make sense?"

He thought about it for a few moments. "I understand what you mean, but you can't change anything that you've done in the past. You can only control yourself right now."

I felt very small and my voice was so soft I barely recognized it. "Ok, let's go."

He gently kissed me then pulled me into a strong hug. "We're all nervous about today and probably will be until all this is settled. I'll always love you. Just remember that."

"I love you too." I sniffed again. And I stood up and pulled him with me. "But we need to leave now."

He smiled and we made our way out to his car. There was a peaceful silence for the first few minutes of the drive. Then I realized how self-centered I had been. "You know, I haven't thought to ask you how you've been doing through all this. How is work going and everything else?"

"Work sucks as usual. Truthfully I haven't been able to concentrate much with everything going on. All I can think about is you."

"Have you heard any more from your stalker?"

"No. And I'm not sure if that is concerning or not. I'm sure you did your homework yesterday, did you find anything?"

"Nothing stuck out to me. I think that maybe this is in the wrong direction. Is there anyone else that you have pissed off in your life that it could be?"

He shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat. "That list is very long and varied." He reached over and patted my leg. "The most important thing is to keep you and the baby safe."

I smiled and we made it the rest of the way in peaceful silence. We pulled into the parking lot of the diner we had agreed to meet at and saw the black Porsche was already sitting there. I took a few deep breaths and mentally prepared myself. I turned to Morelli who was examining me. "I'm right here beside you. We'll get through this."

I grabbed his hand and held tight. "Okay." He lifted up my hand and kissed it before he let it go. We got out of the car and walked up to the door. Joe made sure to open the door for me. We found Ranger in the furthest booth with his back to the wall. Joe slid into the bench across from him and I saw my first dilemma. Where I sat could set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't ready for this kind of pressure yet. Do guys over think this sort of think like women do? Maybe they don't really care. I looked at both their faces and the way they looked at me I could tell it probably mattered. Shit. I quietly slid in next to Joe thinking that was probably best since Ranger might want and unrestricted line of sight. I may have heard an imperceptible breath of air next to me which I thought was probably best to ignore.

Ranger ignored Joe and addressed me. "How are you feeling today?"

"Freaked out and emotional, but otherwise fine. I kept down all my breakfast so far today."

"That's what I heard from Tank."

Joe turned to me with a puzzled look on his face. "What was Tank doing in your apartment today?"

I rolled my eyes and then glared at Ranger. "Tank slept on my couch last night."

"Why did Tank sleep on your couch?"

"Because he was on Stephanie duty and was nice enough to bring me ice cream. So I told him to sleep on my couch instead of sitting in his car. Then he made me breakfast. Cal was there as well."

He shifted uncomfortably next to me. My tone indicated that he needed to back off and he apparently got the hint. It helped that the waitress came up and took our drink orders. I thought for a long time and wasn't sure what I was allowed to have so I ordered lemonade knowing that should be safe. And so began the period of uncomfortable silence which lasted until she brought our drinks back and took our orders. Ranger got a grilled chicken salad and Morelli and I both got turkey club sandwiches and fries. After my conversation with Tank, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to eat them in front of Ranger, especially considering the way his mouth tightened up when I ordered.

Finally I got sick of the brooding silence and spoke up. "So we need to talk about how we are going to do this. Chances are we aren't going to be able to get a paternity test for a couple of weeks." They both just looked at me.

Joe broke first. "What exactly are you asking?"

What was I asking? "I know that you both have concerns right now, especially about my safety and health and by extension the baby. So what do you want from me?" They were silent once again and I was getting increasingly frustrated with both of them. "One of you is actually going to have to speak or I will leave and you can both enjoy each other's company."

This time it was Ranger that spoke up. "You seem to be taking your safety more seriously now. I would like to continue to with the security detail any time that you aren't with one of us."

"I agree." Morelli added.

"I can live with the security detail. What is difficult is when I am with one of you." When neither of them said anything I gave Morelli a pleading look.

"What are you trying to get out of us?"

I blew out a sigh. This was so hard to say and I didn't know how to put it right. "I know how you both want me to make a choice here, but I can't do that without knowing whose baby this is. It's just not fair."

Joe looked at me with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I told you it doesn't matter."

Ranger snickered at him. "You wouldn't stay with her if that's my baby."

"The fuck you think you know about me." Morelli's temper was rising.

"Your pride would never let you walk around the Burg with a baby that everyone would know is mine."

"I actually love her and I love _her_ baby. What about you? You going to lock her and the baby up in your black tower?"

I put my hands up. "Stop this now. This is what I mean. You both hate each other and it's all my fault. I did this to both of you, but I don't want this animosity to continue."

Our waitress chose this moment to bring our food and I was thankful for the break. I stared at my food and was nauseous just looking at it. I felt a hand slowly stroking my back. "Calm down. You need to eat something." I nodded and held the tears forming in my eyes at bay. I took a couple of deep breaths and slowly took a few bites. And we quietly sat eating. "So do we know what to expect today?"

"I think it's just a normal appointment. They may take an ultrasound to see how far along I am. Give me a bunch of information on how my life is over."

Ranger looked at his watch. "We'd better hurry, it's getting close to time." We finished up and when the waitress brought the bill there was a stare off before Ranger threw a couple of bills on the table and got up. Morelli started to say something, but quickly shut his mouth after seeing the look on my face.

We got into his SUV and took off behind Ranger. When we hit a light he turned to me. "Are you ok? That was pretty tense in there."

"I don't know what I was really expecting, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I just hate seeing you both attack each other when it's really all my fault."

"Let's just get through this appointment and get you home. All this stress can't be good for the baby."

"Do you think this is all _my_ fault?"

He kept his eyes on the road and waited a second. "No, it's not _all_ your fault." Then he pulled into the parking lot and turned to me again. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Ranger was standing at the door to the office waiting for us and held the door open for me. I made my way to the reception desk where she smiled at me before her expression turned to shock as she registered the two alpha males standing behind me. "Hello, how can I help you today?"

"I'm Stephanie Plum, I have an appointment." She kept looking behind me at both men and I turned to them. "I can take this from here, go have a seat." They both stood there for a second deciding if it was worth pissing me off before both turning and walking to the waiting area.

She shook her head to regain composure. "Since you're a new patient, we have all these forms to fill out. You can take this clipboard and they'll call you in shortly."

I took the paperwork and went to where they were both sitting across from each other in an apparent staring contest. I sat in a chair on the bench between them. I started filling out the paperwork before turning to Ranger. "I don't have all the insurance information." He held out his hand for the clipboard. A few clicks on his phone and he had all the information filled out on the form. I made it through the rest of the form until it started asking about family history. "Uh oh."

"What?" They both looked at me.

"It's asking questions about my medical and family history and the father's medical and family history."

They both continued to stare at me.

"How am I supposed to fill out that part without knowing?"

"Steph, I don't think they need to have that right now. We'll explain the situation once we get in with the doctor. I'm sure they'll notice something is going on when all three of us go in there." Morelli said as he shot Ranger a death stare.

"Stephanie" the nurse called out. I slowly got up and started towards the door with both of them following me. The nurse gave a slightly quizzical look at the two intimidating men following me. She walked me towards the back area. She stopped at a bathroom and handed me a cup. "First we need a urine sample to confirm pregnancy."

I looked at her dumbfounded until I realized that she expected me to pee in the cup. This was beyond mortifying with these two following me around. I did my best to ignore both of them and I finished up and came back out. They were both standing 6 feet apart each leaning against the wall. I was regretting telling either of them that I was pregnant and wished I was here on my own. The nurse came around the wall and assumed a very perky demeanor. "Well, it looks like you are in fact pregnant." No shit. "So the next thing we need to is get you weighed and then we'll get you into a room."

She started to lead me over to where the scale was and both men started to follow me. "Stop right there. Neither of you is allowed to see this."

Morelli laughed under his breath and Ranger leaned back against the wall. I refused to look at the scale, but Ms. Perky insisted on letting me know. "Ok, it looks like you are 125. Is that around normal for you?"

"Uh, yeah." Ok, that wasn't too bad.

She handed me a bottle of water. "Here, you need to drink all this if they end up needing to do an ultrasound later." I slammed the water back as quickly as I could. "Ok, let's get the guys and get you in to see the doctor." We got settled into a room and after blood pressure check, and basic questions she left us alone.

I was so nervous that I started tapping my leg. Ranger put his hand on my knee. "Calm down. Take some deep breaths. It's just a doctor." I just nodded and tried to take the deep breaths.

After what felt like forever the doctor walked in. He was a nice looking man who looked to be in his mid 40s, but still relatively young. He had sandy blonde hair and a nice smile. "Good afternoon Stephanie, I'm Dr. Stevens. Congratulations on your pregnancy." He must have seen my face then as he sat down on a small round chair. "How are you feeling today?"

"Nervous. Nauseous. Mostly nervous."

"Please don't be nervous in my office. Nauseous is fine, especially this early in the pregnancy. Let me start with my boring stuff and then we can address any of the concerns you have. Does that sound ok?" I nodded. "I have a couple of pamphlets here that address most of the nutrition concerns and other "side effects" of pregnancy. This is the area where there are usually the most questions and also where the most misinformation is, so if you ever have any questions, please call and ask."

I immediately felt more at ease with Dr. Stevens. His voice was so calming and the men standing next to me were fading into the wall as he explained how often I would need to come back, what to expect at appointments and I started focusing on my baby and how I needed to take care of myself for the baby. "So it says on your form that you work in security. If you don't mind, can you tell me what that entails?"

"Well, I used to be a bond enforcement agent, but I am transitioning into a more office manager role at a security company."

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't too high stress for your pregnancy."

Morelli snorted and I rolled my eyes at him. And I was doing so good ignoring them. "Based on the information you gave it looks as though you are about six and a half to seven weeks along. I'd like to do a transvaginal ultrasound to get a more clear due date. Is that ok?"

"When would we do that?"

"Most likely today. I think it's going to be important for something else."

"Oh, ok then." I had insurance now, so at least that was one less thing to worry about.

"Now we should probably address the elephant in the room. Who are these two?" He gestured to Joe and Ranger on either side of me.

I sighed and closed my eyes. This was one thing I didn't want to have to explain to anyone, much less this relative stranger. "These are the two potential fathers."

"Stephanie, please don't get upset. I'm not here to judge you. This isn't uncommon, so please don't be ashamed." Both men put a hand on my knee and I was able to open my eyes. The doctor was giving me a reassuring smile and I let out the breath I was apparently holding. "So, were you using protection or were there any lapses that might indicate which would be the father." He held his gaze firm on me and I could feel both men looking at me too.

I pointed at Ranger, "Broken condom." And then at Morelli, "Missed condom."

"Ok, at least we know how it happened. If you would like to do a paternity test, the earliest we can do that is at nine weeks. So that ultrasound will tell us how early we can do that test. Once we figure out how far along you are we can schedule another visit to talk about testing options. I think that it seems to be causing you a fair bit of stress, and that can't be easy on you right now. Now, do you have any questions about your pregnancy for me?"

"Umm… I don't think so. I'm getting sick a bit and I'm feeling really tired."

"All normal parts of pregnancy, especially for the first trimester. Some women start feeling great during their second trimester and some continue to get sick through their entire pregnancy. If you find yourself feeling abnormally weak or you can't keep anything down for extended periods of time you can call me or go to your closest ER."

"Ok. So what do I need to do now?"

"I'm going to go check and see if the ultrasound tech is available. Since you aren't 8 weeks yet I think we should schedule another visit then and we can talk about the paternity test and do a pelvic exam to make sure everything looks fine. At this time I would also like to do an STD test."

My world started spinning and I kept thinking this isn't happening. "But… I've only been with these two."

"It's an extra precaution-"

Ranger cut him off first. "I had a clean STD test 4 months ago and have had no other partners since."

Morelli came in right behind him. "I had a clean STD test 3 months ago and no other partners since."

Shit, didn't I seem like the slut? Wait a minute, why had they both had STD tests run? What the hell was going on? I looked at both of them with death stares.

The doctor broke up our little fight. "Like I said, it's just an extra precaution. We'll talk about that more at the next visit. Do you still want to do the ultrasound or do you want to wait until next time?" He looked concerned.

"No, I want to do it now and get it done."

"Ok, wait here and the nurse will be back when the tech is ready for you." And he left the room.

I fumed for a few minutes then closed my eyes and tried the deep breath thing. I managed to get out through gritted teeth. "Do you both want to explain to me why you had STD tests run?"

"Military physical."

"Department physical."

"And before three months and four months ago?"

I was met with silence. I finally opened my eyes and turned to Ranger first. He had a blank face, but I could sense he looked almost afraid of me. I turned to Morelli and he was looking down at his shoes. He finally looked into my eyes with sadness. "Cupcake, let's get through this and then we'll talk about it."

I was about to start in on him when Ms. Perky opened the door. "The ultrasound tech is ready for you." She turned quickly around probably terrified of the death stare I probably now had permanently etched on my face. We made it to the ultrasound room where she handed me a sheet. "Take off your pants and underwear and you can use this sheet to cover with."

I gaped at her. "But… I thought… Don't they go on your stomach?"

"Not this early in the pregnancy. The only way to see the baby this early is through a transvaginal ultrasound." She quickly left the room.

"I am not doing this with both of you in here."

Morelli stood firm. "This is my baby and I want to see her."

"This is just as likely my baby and I want to be here too."

How frustrating can two men be? "Ok, you can both stay- IF – you stand behind me and stop this petty fighting shit." They both nodded. "Now turn around so I can get on this damn bed. This is awkward enough with you both being in here."

They turned around and I got dressed and on the bed. The tech came in shortly and completed the very personal ultrasound and both men stayed safely behind me and were quiet. It was amazing to see my little baby on that screen and I wanted so badly to share it with the father. Tears silently rolled down my cheeks as I desperately wanted only one of them to be there so it could be the special moment that it was supposed to be instead of two men frantically hoping, but not knowing if it was theirs or not.

The tech determined that according to size I was seven weeks and one day along and printed me out some pictures which I put in my purse and gave copies to each of the guys. So now we had proof of the baby and knew we had two weeks before we could get a paternity test. Two more weeks of pure stress. Both men turned to give me privacy to put my clothes back on before we headed out of the office. I scheduled another appointment on my way out with both men plugging it into their phone calendars. Then we headed out to the cars. I started to get in the car with Morelli then I realized he never answered my question.

"So how long has it been?"

"How long for what?" He looked at me with pure confusion.

"How long since you've slept with someone else?"

He looked down at his shoes, this wasn't good. He looked up at me and his eyes looked so sad. "We weren't together. I haven't cheated on you any of the times we were together. Even when we said we could see other people, I promise you."

I don't know what I expected out of Morelli when we weren't together, but it didn't stop me from being pissed in this moment. Tears were forming in my eyes, but I didn't care. "Who?"

"Do you really want to know?" I nodded. "It was some waitress, no one you know. It was before we worked the Chipotle case together. I was worried we were never going to get back together."

"Were there any others?"

"We were broken up for some really long periods and there may have been a couple in there."

"Shit. Anyone I know? Am I going to run into someone and get an earful?"

"No, no one we would ever run into. I couldn't do that to you."

"Because you knew you'd get caught."

"Because I know how those bitches from the Burg talk and I couldn't risk hurting you by having one of them rub it in your face. Please let me take you home. It's been a stressful day for all of us."

I stood there and thought about it. Part of me wanted to grow up and get in the car and hear him out. But there was the emotional pregnancy part that couldn't be around him right now. I turned and Ranger was standing there watching us. Morelli ran towards me and grabbed my hand. "Please don't go with him."

"I can't go with you right now. I'm not saying I can't get over this, I just can't right now. Please let me go."

"Why can you go with him? Do you think he hasn't slept with anyone else?"

I looked at him with my tear streaked face. "I know, and I'll be grilling him in the car the whole way home. But I wasn't in a relationship with him. And I'm not going with him either. He's taking me to Rangeman so Tank can take me home."

Ranger opened the door for me and I got in. He closed the door and got into the driver's seat. I took one last look at Morelli standing there looking desolate and I quickly turned away. I needed to get far away before I changed my mind. I needed the truth out of Ranger and then time to process all of it. "Drive."


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry it has been so long getting this out. I have been travelling to the land of thousands of Joe Morellis with my very own Ranger. Ok, maybe not quite, but definitely the strong silent type. Internet connection is spotty so I don't know when I will be able to post again, but hopefully soon. Enioy! _

**Chapter 9**

I was staring out the window trying to hold back the tears. Ranger was silent beside me. In my mind I knew I was being irrational about the whole situation. The fact that I screwed two men was what had gotten me into this situation in the first place, but I still couldn't help but feel hurt at the thought that I wasn't the only person in either one of their lives. Sure, Morelli never technically cheated on me, but it just hit me hard to think that there was someone else out there who made him happy that he replaced me, even if for a short time. And I didn't even know what my relationship was with Ranger, so how could I have any expectation of who he's sleeping with? That's what bothered me more than anything with Ranger- I had no idea where I stood with him, what I was to him, or where I was going with him.

Just thinking about it was enough to make me nauseous. No, that was actually me getting ready to get sick. "Shit, pull over."

He looked at me and jerked the car to the side of the road. I opened the door and spilled my lunch. I felt his hand on my back. "Are you ok?"

I looked around and saw there was thankfully no one else around to see my embarrassing disploay. I finally turned to look at him. He handed me a hard candy which I took. He was staring straight at me and I could see the tension in his face. He knew I was so close to losing it. "What am I to you?"

Confusion flashed across his face and he raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's a pretty simple question. What am I to you? Are we dating? Am I just your mentee? Am I just some girl that you keep tabs on so you can occasionally fuck me? I have no idea where I stand with you."

He was silent for a beat. "I never thought to define it."

"I need a definition."

"You are the only thing in my life that has any meaning."

He answered so quickly it caught me off guard and I savored it for a moment. "That's nice and all, but that still doesn't define our relationship."

"Wher are you going with this?"

"I have no idea if there are other women in your life or if it's just me. It's just so frustrating to not know - anything."

He turned and pulled the car back into drive. "So ask me." He was so calm and I was fuming on the inside.

"Are there other women in your life?"

"Not at the moment. Obviously you are not the only woman I've ever slept with, but you are the only woman who is the center of my life."

Again, it was a nice answer, but still avoided my question. "How recently has there been another woman?"

He shifted ever so slightly in his chair. I wasn't going to like his answer. "A couple of months ago. As much as I wanted to be with you, you held me at bay for a long time."

"If I mean so much to you why didn't you pursue me? There were times I was available; Morelli and I broke up a hundred times. You never tried to pursue anything further than sex until now."

"It's not that easy. I had other obligations. I had to make sure I was at a place in my life where I could safely pursue a relationship with you."

"Can you talk about it?"

"Not exactly."

"I can accept there are things that you can't tell me about because of your job or the military or whatever. I can't accept that you can't open up to me about anything."

"What do you want?"

"I want to you to talk to me."

"We're talking right now."

This was infuriating. "I've heard so many things from you that frustrate me, you love me _in your own way_, your kind of love will never come with a ring. How am I supposed to believe any of it has changed? Nothing really has changed when you still won't say you love me."

"Circumstances changed. My contract was coming to an end, so I chose to not renew it. You got pregnant and I love you and I want to do right by you, so I am changing. But this is all new to me and I am not used to it. Is that what you want to hear?"

"I think so. I don't know. I still don't feel like I have a good hold on our relationship."

We pulled into Rangeman and before I could get out Ranger grabbed my hand. "Don't give up on me. Please."

"I'm not."

His blank face came on as he nodded and let go of my hand and we both walked to the elevator and took it up to the fifth floor. I felt like I had won something, I just wasn't sure what. As we exited the elevator he turned to me. "Make sure to eat something."

I nodded and Ranger went to his office. I went to the break room and grabbed a granola bar before knocking on Tank's door. I heard his authoritative voice. "Come in."

I peeked around the door. "Hey Tank. Do you have a minute?"

"Anything for you. How did it go?"

I closed the door behind me and took a seat across from his desk. "Not as bad as my imagination, but not great."

"That doesn't give me a whole lot to go on."

"Yeah. You were right about the other women thing. I know I shouldn't be upset at either of them given the situation, but I'm still hurt."

"How so?"

I was silent for a few minutes thinking about it. Where did my life go so wrong? "I guess after my experience with Dickie I told myself I would never be with someone who would cheat on me. And neither of them did, and I technically didn't either. There was an undefinition in both relationships that I enjoyed when it suited my purposes, but now I'm upset because it's biting me in the ass."

"I think that is a very fair assessment. So does this realization change anything for you?"

I had to think about that. "I know that I need definition to any new relationship. So that I know I am held accountable and I can trust that my partner is too."

He smiled at me. "I knew you'd get there."

"You're really being sweet to me. I am so happy to have you finally talk with me. Why are you always so quiet?"

"I like to observe. It has suited me well over the years. Ranger is like that too, except now he has a reason to open up a little."

"He's not exactly open with me if that is what you are inferring."

"He's more open with you than anyone else."

"Do you think he and I could really ever be together?"

He frowned a little and took his time answering. "I suppose it could work. It depends on what you are willing to put up with. Do you think you could be happy with him?"

"I don't know. I like being with him, but there is a lot to consider."

"Take your time to consider then. Just choose whatever will make you happy."

I nodded. "Do you have anyone to make you happy? You seem to spend an unhealthy amount of time watching over me."

"I have my cats. They make me happy. Do you want to see new pictures?"

"Sure, but only if you look at my alien baby ultrasound pictures. There aren't many people I can share them with right now."

We swapped pictures and oohed and ahhed. "The cats are sweet and all, but do you ever miss Lula?"

The frown lines appeared on his forehead again. "Sometimes."

"You should call her sometime."

"Maybe." I laughed at poor Tank. He could sit and talk about me forever, but doesn't want interference in his own life.

"Thanks for talking with me. Any chance you could drive me home? Ranger needs some time to think away from me." I winked at him.

"Let's go."

Tank drove me home and I thought about what my next move should be. I needed to talk with Morelli. I still wasn't happy about the revelation, but I needed to move on. I can't believe talking to Tank is helping like this, but it's so different from another woman's opinion. Maybe since I can't seem to understand anything going on in the male species and he is the only unbiased opinion I can get right now. I vaguely registered that we were pulling into my parking lot of my building and then I saw Morelli's SUV in my parking lot.

Tank stopped the car and looked at me. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. "I need to face this. He deserves that much from me."

"Should I pull the Rangeman detail?"

"I don't know if he will stay."

"Noted. Good luck."

"Thanks."

I took a deep breath and braved my way up the stairs. I would have taken the elevator, but I wasn't in a hurry for this confrontation. When I saw my door I was in shock. I was ready for a fight, but what I found was Morelli sitting on the floor with his head down. He looked so defeated and I felt terrible for the confrontation in the parking lot.

"Joe." I approached cautiously.

He startled at the sound of my voice. "Cupcake!" He jumped up and wrapped his arms around me. "Oh thank God you're ok."

I returned his hug, but felt this was about something else. "Has something happened that I'm not aware of?"

He pulled back. "Shit, I'm sorry. I was just so nervous. I left and went home to let Bob out before coming over here and there was a note taped to my door."

I held out my hand and he pulled it out of his pocket.

_Congratulations Joe it looks like there are some new developments in your life. Hope you take care of your girl because I sure will. Or maybe her bodyguard will take care of her for you. You can make it tricky but I will get her eventually._

Included was a picture of Joe and I entering the doctor's office together and Ranger holding the door.

"Oh Joe."

He held up his hand to stop me. "I know you don't want to see me right now, but I had to check on you."

"Come inside."

"I don't want to stress you out any further by fighting. You heard the doctor."

"If you don't want to stress me out then get in the apartment."

He had a flicker of doubt cross his face, but he followed me in. I dropped my bag on the counter, got a beer out of the refrigerator and handed it to Morelli. He watched me with cautious eyes. I tried to give him a smile. "I figured at least one of us should be drinking and seeing as I can't."

He took my peace offering and had a long drag off it. He looked like he had something to say, but he remained quiet. I knew the feeling.

"Listen, I know I was being a hypocrite today, but I can't help it. I feel very possessive of you and I pictured you with another woman... it's enough to drive me crazy."

"Yeah, I'm aware of the feeling." He started with a little venom before shaking his head and trying with a more gentle tone. "You have to understand, I thought that we were over when they happened. If I would have known we would get back together..."

"I know. Obviously, I have had my own indiscretion and you never attacked me over it. And I shouldn't have gone off on you in the parking lot and left. I'm blaming pregnancy hormones."

"At least there are benefits to the pregnancy." He hooked a finger in my shirt and gave me a sly smile. There's my sexy Joe.

"Watch it buddy." I smacked his hand away. He reached around me and pulled me into him. His fingers were running through my hair as he studied my face. Then he pulled me in for a gentle lingering kiss.

"So have you forgiven me?"

"Yeah. Have you forgiven me?"

"Yeah. Now what?"

"Now we go to my mother's for dinner. Better hurry."

"Cupcake, why do I feel like this is a punishment?"


	10. Chapter 10

_Ah, back in America now with my normal internet connection. I missed this very much, but the long, long plane ride at least gave me a chance to write almost two chapters. I should probably apologize for the language. So enjoy the first one for now and happy Labor Day. Ciao!_

_As always, I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

**Chapter 10**

The alarm went off and I felt Joe turn it off and pull me back into him.

"It's Saturday, are you really going in?"

"I need to go turn in the note as evidence and I'm going to check on anything I missed yesterday."

"Have a good time."

He rolled over and pulled his pants on. After a normal dinner at my parents' house where the oddest part was when Grandma Mazur recounted how her friend Margie might have gotten an STD from a gentleman friend, but luckily was just irritation and how much she wished she could get that kind of irritation. I successfully managed to not get sick over the lasagna, so our secret remained safe for now. And I think my mother was satisfied that Joe had made it to dinner and that we were back together. We stopped by Joe's house and I fell asleep the instant I hit the bed.

Joe had finished putting his shirt on which I thought was such a shame as my overzealous hormones were out to play this morning. "What are you up to today?"

"I don't know. Maybe try to have lunch with Lula and Connie. They usually only work a half day on Saturday."

"I have to say I'm shocked they haven't spilled yet."

"Mmmm... me too. They feel like they have the inside scoop on a big secret. Which I suppose they do."

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the week?"

"Nothing so far except for work."

"How about Sunday? Any plans on Sunday?"

"You're making me nervous."

"I'm nervous. And I hate to ask you... but it's my mother's birthday. Please say you'll come with me."

"Hell no! Your mother and grandmother hate me. Your grandma put the vordo on me which caused all this! She'll sniff the pregnancy out a mile away."

"She has said you were pregnant before. No one will believe her if she does guess it and we'll just deny it. Please Cupcake. Do this for me?"

So here was my chance. I could keep acting like a spoiled brat and refuse to comply with this very simple request that a normal girlfriend wouldn't have any problem with. Or I could make some more excuses and refuse to go. After everything I've put Morelli through recently I owed him this. "Fine, I will go."

He cocked his head and had a perplexed look on his face. "Really? I mean... I'm thrilled, but... I thought you wouldn't..."

"Yeah I know. But we are trying to be grownups now. Remember?"

He smiled at me and kissed me softly. "Yeah, I remember."

"Which reminds me. Can you see if there is a car on duty out front?"

He gave me a sideways look, but shook his head and thought better of it. He went into the other room and came back in. "No big black SUV. Do you want to call and get someone out here while I go take a shower?"

I whipped out my phone and called Tank. "Yo."

"Yo. I need a man in black in a black car."

"Understood. Someone will be there in ten minutes."

"Ummm... Does Ranger know I spent the night here?"

He was silent for a few moments. "Probably."

"It's not what it looks like."

"Not my place to judge."

"Ok. So do you know who will be my shadow today?"

I could hear clicking on the keyboard. "Looks like Vince this afternoon."

"Well, I'm planning on going to lunch with Connie and Lula and I'm afraid he might overhear..."

"Anyone at Rangeman knows how to keep information quiet. Especially with the fear of Ranger."

"Noted. See you around." To which he hung up.

So now I had a plan for the day. Joe came out of the shower in just a towel. I think I drooled a little before I came to my senses. I think I saw him laugh as he started putting his clothes on. Not to be outdone, I stripped down to nothing and walked into the bathroom to take my shower. I think I heard his jaw hit the floor on my way. When I was finished with my shower I found a fresh pot of coffee and Joe was making pancakes. He had a glass of orange juice already poured for me and he motioned for me to sit down. He put a fresh batch of pancakes and syrup in front of me.

"I didn't know if you could have coffee or not."

"According to the doctor's info, I can have two or so cups a day."

"Do you want one?"

"I'm good for now."

Joe sat down in front of me and we ate our pancakes, throwing Bob the occasional piece. "So, I was thinking about your stalker. And I don't think he's related to your job."

He nodded. "Why is that? Do you have an alternate theory?"

"I think this feels more personal. If it would have been an ex-con the language would have been different. It just doesn't feel right."

"You're thinking about Dave."

"Kinda. There are a number of reasons someone might hate you. I figure I do every other day or so." I smiled at him.

"Cute. I'll let them know when I drop this off." He looked out the front door. "Your shadow is here. So do you want me to drive you home or what?"

"I'll see if Vince can give me a lift."

He kissed my forehead. "Alright. I'll pick you up tomorrow, dinner's at six. Stay safe."

I grabbed my bag and headed to the waiting black car. The side window rolled down. "Morning Bomber."

"Good morning Vince. Since you are stuck following me today do you mind giving me a ride?"

He smiled ever so slightly. "I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

I waved back at Joe and hopped in. "To the bonds office."

He kept facing forward, but every so often would avert his eyes my way. "So... you haven't been picking up many skips lately."

Shit. I always wondered how much the guys all talked together. "There hasn't been a lot for me. And I've been busy at Rangeman."

"Yeah. I'm glad they finally got you in a permanent position there. Everyone likes seeing you every day."

That sentiment surprised me; I really didn't think they would enjoy having a woman around all the time they had to deal with. We pulled into the bonds office. I turned to him unsure, but I knew he needed to be set straight. "Are you coming in with me?"

"Uhh... I was planning on it. Is that a problem?"

I sighed. He was going to end up finding out anyway. "Ok, here's the thing. You're probably going to hear some stuff today and I would rather it not go past your ears for now. Everyone else will find out soon enough, but I'm not ready yet. And I'm pretty sure that if anyone else from Rangeman finds out, Ranger would be pretty pissed. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"Uhhh... Shit. Sure." I couldn't tell if he was going to piss his pants because of my superbitch attitude so I just got up and walked to the door which he beat me to and held open.

"Hey girl. You bringing work or company?" Lula looked shocking in her neon pink and black striped dress that barely covered anything.

"Vince is my shadow for the day. The guys are a little afraid because of some new threats."

Connie nodded her head to Vinnie's door. "He's in today. Been asking where you are and when you're coming back to work."

"Shit."

The door opened. "Did I hear Steph? Yeah, there's my no good cousin. Are you ever coming back to work? Your vacation doesn't last forever."

"Dunno Vinnie. I got a pretty good job offer from Rangeman. Think I'm going to stay there."

"Who am I going to get to pick up skips?"

"Rangeman handles the high bonds. You just need someone to pick up the other stuff. You'll still see me around, so don't worry about missing me."

"No one in their right mind wants this crap job." He mumbled as he slipped back into his office.

"Good luck anyway." I scoped out the clock. It was only 10:30, but I needed to get out of there quickly. "So girls, are we still on for lunch?"

"Hell yeah. Where we going?" Of course, Lula was always up for food.

"I was thinking of this new place way out of town."

Connie helped pick up for me. "We'd better get going then. Get there early. Be back on Monday." She shouted to Vinnie.

"You're all worthless and I should fire all of you." He shouted through the door

"Good luck with that." And we all walked out the door. "Now where to?"

I shrugged. "Very far out of town."

Connie nodded. "I know a place. Follow me."

Vince and I got in the car and followed Connie. We were a good twenty minutes away from anyone that would know us. We got in and the place was empty so we got a table far in the back that seemed Rangeman appropriate.

"Ok girlie, spill." Lula jumped in and Connie darted her eyes quickly to Vince.

"It's ok. I don't want to ditch my detail and he's been threatened under penalty of Ranger." The waitress came and got our drink orders and we quickly looked at the menu. Everything greasy sounded disgusting and I finally decided on a salad. Both of them looked at me like I had a purple face.

Lula jumped in her seat. "So it must be a batbaby if you're craving salad."

Vince's eyes got really wide at that comment. "I don't know. I am just hoping it sits a little better than some greasier stuff."

"How did the doctor's appointment go? When do you get to do the test?" Connie asked.

"The appointment was fine. We can't do a paternity test for another two weeks or so. The guys were mostly civil with each other. And I did find out they've both been with other people..."

"No shit? Well, you haven't exactly been putting it out for Batman. You just expect him to wait around for you?"

"And you and Joe have been on and off."

"I know, I know. I'm mostly over it all now. That was pretty much the only exciting part so far."

There was a long pause before Connie asked. "So have you made a decision yet?"

I sighed, yet again. "Not yet. I really don't think it is fair to either of them before they know."

Our lunch came and we ate while each of them pointed out all the strengths and weaknesses to each guy. Everything I already knew. They filled me in on all the other gossip and we said our goodbyes. We got out to the car and I turned to Vince. "So you can see why I need you to keep this quiet."

"So you're pregnant possibly with Ranger's baby."

"Fifty fifty shot."

"Shit. And now I know. Shit. And he's going to know I know. SHIT. He's going to kill me."

"He's not going to kill you because you are going to keep your mouth shut. I won't let him kill you. Let's get back to my place."

We got home and I went upstairs for a nap. This was one of the few benefits of pregnancy, all the napping and no one says anything. I woke up three hours later and decided to scrounge up dinner at my place since I didn't want to see Vince's shocked face again. I realized I really needed to go shopping because I had very little left. I could go mooch off Ranger or Joe or my mother, but I felt like peace and quiet. I made myself a peanut butter sandwich and sat down to watch some television. I must have fallen asleep because the phone ringing woke me up.

"Who is this?" Apparently any manners are out the door if I am napping.

"Tank."

I immediately shot up. Something must be wrong. A look at the clock tells me that it is 11. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really. It's just... I came up here to talk to Ranger and we started drinking and... Can you come here to take care of him?"

My mind started whirring in circles. This was either an excellent opportunity of a lifetime or I should be scared shitless. "I'll be there as soon as I can." I got myself together and tapped on Vince's door on the way out. "I'm heading to Rangeman, and then I think you're off of Stephanie watch." His eyes got really big and he nodded. Was Ranger really that scary? Damnit, this was a bad idea.

I drove to Rangeman trying not to think about Ranger drunk. I pulled into the parking lot and waved to Vince as I ran to the elevator. "It will be fine. I promise." And I gave him a small smile as I pushed the button for seven. When I reached the seventh floor I took a deep breath and fobbed my way in.

I tentatively stepped inside. Tank came and met me at the door. "Sorry about calling so late. We were sharing a bottle of Bourbon and he started taking double shots and... I didn't know what else to do, but I thought you being here might be able to help."

"It's fine Tank. I can take it from here." He nodded and left. I walked in and found Ranger sprawled out in the chair.

"Tank. Why am I seeing Stephanie? Tank!"

I looked at him and took it all in. Ranger was still holding a glass with amber liquid still swirling in his glass. His eyes were barely open and he was slurring his words. I had never seen him so relaxed or out of control, I couldn't decide which was more prevalent. I thought of everything I could ask him that I always wanted to know, but it wasn't right to breech his privacy like that. "Tank needed to go home to sleep. I think it is time for you to go to bed too."

He slammed back the rest of his drink. "I'm not ready to stop."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why are you drinking?"

"Tank brought it. He wanted to talk to me. Apparently I am less than forthcoming."

"I never seem to be able to get what I want out of you."

He leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees to stabilize himself. "What do you want? Because I'll give it to you."

I must admit I was tempted, but I was able to control myself. "I want you to come with me and get to bed so you can sleep this off."

He gave me a coy smile and sat back. "I'll go to the bedroom with you Babe."

"I'm not having sex with you. You're drunk. Please come with me." I came closer and held out my hand to him.

He got up and seemed sturdy. He grabbed my hand and walked me back to the bedroom. He sat/fell onto the bed. I reached down and pulled each of his boots and socks off. I stood up and looked at him. He normally sleeps naked, but I didn't want to give him the wrong idea by stripping him down. He must have read my mind because he sat up and pulled his shirt off. Before I knew what was happening he had pulled me into him and rolled on top of me. He was furiously kissing me and I felt myself responding to him.

I wanted so badly to give in, but my brain finally started working again and I pushed against him. "Ranger, we can't do this."

"I want you. I want everything about you. I love you."

Oh shit. I needed to get him to sleep before he started making more drunken confessions that I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to hear. He lay back down on the bed next to me and closed his eyes. I tried to rustle him into bed long ways and decided to pull his pants off. I quickly covered him with his sheet so I didn't have to worry about his nakedness. I went into the kitchen and left a bottle of water on his nightstand.

As I started to walk away he grabbed my hand, but his eyes didn't open. "Stay with me... Please."

I rummaged around his room and found one of his t-shirts and changed quickly. I slid into bed with him and hoped there was a little something between us. He pulled me into his chest and splayed his hand over my abdomen. "I want this baby." He mumbled in my ear. "Not Morelli. It's supposed to be me."

I didn't know if I should respond to his drunken ramblings or just wait for him to go to sleep. I turned over and pulled him into my chest and rubbed his back to soothe him. His head nuzzled against mine and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. "I will... always love..." He whispered as he drifted off to sleep.

After a few minutes he rolled onto his back and I was able to slip out unnoticed. I went into the kitchen so I wouldn't wake him and called Tank. "Yo."

"What did you do to him?" I asked as loudly as I could without waking Ranger up.

"Heh heh heh. I didn't do anything. I just brought the bottle to give him a chance to talk. I can't help it he started pouring doubles."

"Why did you call me in to do this?" I hissed into the phone.

"He kept going on and on about you and then he got belligerent. I thought having you there would be soothing to him."

"Yeah, well you're in for it when he wakes up and realizes you let him talk to me uninhibited."

"We'll see." He said then promptly hung up on me.

I was lost as to what to do next considering Ranger was very naked and very drunk and oh so tempting in bed. I would prolong the inevitable and try to eat something first. I went through his kitchen and found very little appetizing, mostly just healthy. I settled on a banana and hoped that by the time I got back be would be very asleep. I was almost finished when I heard Ranger, he wasn't screaming, but he was clearly agitated.

I rushed in and rubbed my hand on his back making the soft shhing sounds. It seemed to work to calm him down. I lay down with him and pulled him into me and we both drifted off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you everyone for the reviews, I truly appreciate each and every one of them, even if I don't get a chance to reply back. Mostly I had to stop because I thought I was giving too much away and where would the fun be with that? That being said, I promise this will not go on forever and we are getting close to a decision here!_

_I am not Janet Evanovich and I am doing this just for fun._

**Chapter 11**

The next morning I awoke to the sound of Ranger groaning. I opened my eyes and looked up at him hovering over me. "When did you get here?"

"Tank called and said you needed help, so I came."

"Tank is a dead man."

"Please, we spent some lovely quality time together." I smiled sweetly at him.

He looked under the blanket. "Babe. Did you undress me?"

"I didn't think you'd want to sleep in your clothes." I tried to explain.

He kissed my forehead. "Are you going to tell me what all happened?"

I shrugged. "Will you tell me why you got drunk with Tank?"

He gave me his blank stare. "Babe."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

He rolled over and got out of bed. Just as I had suspected: naked. I let my dirty thoughts go in my head until he made his way into the bathroom and I heard the shower come on. I made the decision to stay in bed and try to sleep some more. After about fifteen minutes without success, I heard the shower turn off and the bathroom door opened a few moments later. He must have gone in his closet and got dressed. The next thing I knew he was in bed behind me with his arms wrapped around me.

"Are you staying for breakfast?"

"I suppose I should eat something." I mumbled.

He jumped out of bed and went in to make the call to Ella. I slowly rolled out of bed thinking how unfair it was since I never felt this perky during a hangover. One shower and he is ready to go. And that was all the incentive I needed to take advantage of his shower gel. By the time I got out of the bathroom he was already sitting at the table eating breakfast. I sat down to an omelet and what I imagine to be whole wheat toast.

I glared at him. "This is the thanks I get for taking care of you?"

"Babe. You need to take care of yourself and you need protein and fiber." I continued my glare and I think he started to smile. "There is at least strawberry jam."

In spite of my anger I was hungry, so I sat down and started eating. There was at least cheese in the omelet, so it wasn't too bad.

We ate in silence until I was finished. "I need to get going."

He looked at me with his blank face, but I noticed the stress around his eyes. Stress that I was causing. "Do you have plans today?"

I sighed; this arrangement was not working for any of us. We needed the paternity test run yesterday! "Yeah. I have plans tonight with Morelli." I looked down at my empty plate because I really didn't want to see his expression and any disappointment he may have in me.

"Another night then." He sounded so detached and formal.

And that was apparently all it took to snap me into bitch mode. I looked up and rolled my eyes at him. "Why is it I still feel like luggage? I'm passed back and forth between you still."

"Babe, you are the one who hasn't made a choice."

"And until I do you are going to keep sharing me. I want to say to hell with both of you!"

He didn't react to my outburst; he had too much control for that. "I just want to spend time with you, my woman, the mother of my child."

"When the hell did I become your woman? And this baby may not be yours."

I immediately regretted the last statement when Ranger's eyes narrowed and he stared me down with a look that made most men pee themselves. "You became my woman the second you let me into your bed. And I will assume this baby is mine until proven otherwise and I will continue to fight for you until you tell me it is over." His voice was so calm, but authoritative I think my mouth fell open. My expression must have affected him because he immediately softened. "The dilemma is Morelli feels the same way. So either you make a decision or be prepared for two more weeks of this."

I stood up and threw my hands in the air. "Fine." I started to walk away when Ranger grabbed my hand and pulled me into him.

"What happened last night? You're upset, I don't understand." He breathed into my hair.

"I just... You both want this so badly. I'm going to hurt someone and I just don't want to do it." I started crying. "I'm terrified of losing one of you forever."

He held me close and stroked my hair. "I may never be friends with Morelli, but I will always be here for you." I continued bawling into his chest until I finally pulled myself away. I saw the wet stains on his t-shirt. He looked me in the eyes. "Stop thinking about it. It is upsetting you and neither of us wants that. Wait until you are ready."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for all this." I said as I wiped my eyes.

This actually won me a Ranger smile. "I've heard pregnant women get a little emotional."

"Yeah, try lying to everyone about it too. It's a job in itself. Speaking of jobs, do you need to get to work at all?"

"I had cleared my schedule and was going to spend some time with you, but it sounds like you are busy. Looks like another day of catching bad guys."

I tilted my head and looked at him. "You... were going to spend the day… with me?"

"I am trying to build a different kind of relationship. One that is more than just sex and work. I would think spending time together would be a requirement."

"Oh. I guess so. Well, the rest of my week is pretty open outside of work. So let me know when you are available."

He smiled a 200 watt smile and kissed me on the lips this time. I assumed this was our parting call so I left and headed to my car to go home for a little while. I saw my black clad tail on me and actually felt better knowing it was there. Joe was supposed to pick me up later so I ran by the grocery to pick up some real food for my apartment. I felt good afterwards, like I was actually doing something for my baby. It didn't hurt that I stocked up on some snack food as well.

I made myself some chicken noodle soup from a can for lunch since I was pretty tired and it looked the easiest. Of course it made me so tired that I took a short nap after lunch and then waited for Morelli to show up. Dinner was at six and he was knocking on my door around five. I opened the door and gave him a shocked look because he was holding flowers. "What's this for?"

He smiled at me. "If you can make an effort, so can I. We have a couple minutes if you want to postpone the agony."

I knew it was a joke, but Grandma Bella scared the bejezus out of me. My stomach started rumbling and I ran to the bathroom and lost my lunch.

"Shit, Cupcake. I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to go."

I felt my stomach finish and sat back. "No, it's ok. I need to do this. I am a grownup now. Just please don't leave me alone."

"I'll be right by your side the whole time."

After brushing my teeth and cleaning myself up to where I looked presentable it was time to leave. Joe had placed my flowers in the only vase I had and they adorned my dining room table. We stopped by the black car on our way out to let him know Joe was taking over for the rest of the night. On the short fifteen minute drive Joe told me about how he tried to push my stalker theory at the station, but no one knows where to start looking. There were literally no leads and they are just waiting for new evidence. If I weren't pregnant, I would offer myself up for bait, but that was no longer an option.

We pulled up outside his mom's house and saw the line of cars. I started hyperventilating and he rubbed my back. "It is just my brothers and sisters today. I'll be right beside you the whole time. Don't worry about it."

I nodded my head and he got out to help me out of the car. Once I was upright he pulled me in and kissed me. "You have no idea what this means to me that you're here."

He was being so sweet it made me smile and bat my eyelashes at him. "Let's get this over with."

He held my hand as we walked in together and we were rushed by what felt like the entire Morelli family. Everyone seemed very happy to see me, especially Joe's mom. I felt overwhelmed by the shower of affection. Suddenly a silence stretched across the room. I felt a shiver down my spine and knew Grandma Bella must be near.

She pointed at me and everyone parted in her wake. She approached me and I fought the urge to run. "You. You are finally with child."

Oh shit! I shook my head as hard as I could. Morelli quickly came to my defense by putting his arm around me. "Not this again. Stop scaring her Grandma." He was obviously better at this than I was because I'm pretty sure I was shaking with fear.

She shook her finger at him and pointed to her eye. "I see it with the eye. She has a baby Morelli inside her."

I looked up at Joe and I saw the brief flash of excitement across his face. I gave him a pointed look and he quickly recovered. "Grandma please. You've had visions of her being pregnant before, none of which have been true."

"Bella, perhaps you should go lie down. We all know how tired you get after a vision." His mother broke in. Bella pointed at Joe and me and her eye a couple more times then turned to go upstairs and lie down. "Joseph, can I see you in the kitchen."

All the other siblings started looking in other directions and moving about not wanting to linger in the Bella zone. Joe squeezed my hand and I finally closed my mouth since it had apparently been open the entire time. I nodded at him to go with his mother and I said a prayer to myself that Bella would stay upstairs. He left with her and I tried to look busy so no one would approach me.

Not long after Joe left his brother Anthony was beside me. "It must be awful getting that kind of news from a crazy old lady."

I looked at him and saw the big grin on his face that I tried to match. "Like Joe said, it isn't the first time. I think I must have a whole pack of kids around here somewhere." I tried to joke, but I was still a little breathless.

"Yeah, speaking of which... what's the deal with you and Joey?"

I coughed a little and he gave me a knowing smile and patted my back.

"I... uhh... we're..." I started frantically looking at the kitchen door. How much longer was Joe going to be?

"See, Joey's been hung up on you for a couple of years now. Don't you think it's time already? Either that or let the poor guy go."

I was starting to get angry at this line of questioning. This seemed over the line, especially after what I had witnessed of his behavior towards his wife. "So what, you figure I should settle down and marry him so he can run around on me like his brothers do to their wives?"

His mouth formed a taught line and he tensed up a little more. "Joey isn't like that and you know it."

My mind drifted towards Friday and his confession, but I believed him that he was faithful to me when we were together. "I know that. Maybe he doesn't want to marry me; he's never actually asked me."

He snorted at me. "Yeah, that's it. Just think about it. Don't get me wrong because we love you for Joey and all. He's a good guy and he's ready to start thinking about a family. But if you aren't planning on settling down with him... he deserves someone who does." He patted me on the shoulder and walked away.

I alternated between upset that he would dare say that to me and thinking about how he was right. It has been apparent lately that he has been leaning towards settling down. But he never did ask me, and if he did what would I have said? I needed to find Joe - I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts. I stood outside the kitchen door and heard Joe and his mother talking.

"Ma, leave it alone."

"I know, it's just… You're taking an awful chance. If she were pregnant… You need to take care of her Joseph." My heart broke for her, she sounded so desperate. And here I was making Joe keep this secret from her.

"I promise Ma, I want to take care of her. Just let us do this our way." I recognized his tone, it was the one he used on me when he tries to calm me down after I've melted down.

"You two should be married, then you don't have to worry about if…"

"Ma, stop it!" I could imagine him looking down at his shoes and counting to ten. "I want to marry her. But she needs more time, and I'm going to give it to her. Please just leave it alone for now." He sounded exasperated and I didn't know if I wanted to hear any more.

I knocked on the door and slowly pushed it open. "Hey Joe, I was just…." My brain froze; for once in my life I could not come up with a lie.

I saw a forced smile on his face. "Yeah Cupcake, I'll be right there." He gently rubbed his mom's shoulder and kissed her cheek. Then he came and put his arm around me as he kissed me on the forehead and we all walked back out into the party. "You ok?" He whispered to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Everything ok with your mom?" Like I hadn't just been eavesdropping.

"Fine. Don't worry about it. Are you sure you're ok? I'm so sorry about grandma. We can leave early if you need to."

"That's nice, but I don't want to take you away from time with your family." I tried to muster up a smile for him. I tried to push it all out of mind for now. The fallout was bound to happen and now I had to do damage control because this rumor wasn't going to go away now.

"Come on, it's probably getting close to dinner and we'll leave soon afterwards."

We made it through the rest of dinner without incident, but the damage was already done. Everyone was looking very cautiously at us and his mother wouldn't even look either of us in the eye. Bella thankfully didn't bring it up again. Joe was true to his word and we left right after dinner. As soon as we got in the car it was time to start damage control.

"So how are we going to handle this because you know the Burg will be buzzing?"

His forehead wrinkled in a frown. "Do you really think this will get out? I mean, it's just a crazy old woman making a weird prediction."

"Really Joe? Since when has that stopped a rumor from spreading? I'll be pregnant with triplets by the time we get home."

He sighed in exasperation. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I mean, I knew it was going to happen eventually. I just hate to think... Mary Lou finding out from someone else... and my mother... I don't even want to think about what to say before I can tell her who the father is. She will be mortified! There isn't enough ironing in the world." I started tearing up which turned into full blown sobbing and I dropped my head in my hands. I hate these hormones!

"Ok, so call Mary Lou and tell her. Surely she will stay quiet if you ask her. Then just maintain denial with everyone else."

"I don't know if that will work. I don't know if I can't lie to my family like that." I said between sobs.

"Tell me what to do. Please don't cry. I hate to see you like this."

I looked up at him and I remembered hearing what he had said to his mother and I saw his concern. "This isn't your fault. I screwed up my pregnancy all on my own by being irresponsible and I would have outed myself sooner or later. I just don't want everyone to know what a screw up I am."

He pulled into his driveway and cupped my cheek with his hand. "You are not a screw up. Two guys don't fight over a screw up. They fight over someone so incredibly special she doesn't even realize it. Don't ever say that about yourself again. Now, you tell me what we are going to do or say when asked about this. We're going to get through this together."

I sniffed and he wiped the last of my tears with his thumbs. "Why are you so good to me?"

He smiled. "Because I love you."

"I love you too. Let's go with denial for now. My mother can live in my world for a while."

He hesitated before he spoke next. "Can you promise me that I get to tell my ma if…"

Now I had to force a smile for him. Not only had I ruined this for myself, but for him too. I knew how badly he wanted a family, and he couldn't enjoy any of this because he didn't know if it was even real or not. "Yeah Joe, I'll even go with you. I'm so sorry to put you through this."

"Don't start that. You stay here and I'm going to get Bob and we are going to pick you up some birthday cake and head back to your apartment. Ok?"

"Go get him."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I woke up with an intense need to pee. I broke free from Joe's grasp and rushed my way into the bathroom. When I came back in he was sitting up in bed waiting for me. "It's a good thing I have nature's alarm clock. Otherwise I probably would have stayed asleep forever and we'd never make it into work on time."

"Well, we'd have an alarm clock if you didn't insist we turn our phones off."

I just smiled at him. "Go ahead and see if you have any messages."

He shook his head and grabbed his phone. As he turned it on and listened the smile fell from his face as mine increased in triumph. "I have 27 messages. How can I have 27 messages so soon? Its only- 7 in the morning. I'm really going to have to speak to my family about keeping their mouths shut."

"Well I'm glad that I at least got to let Mary Lou know before it made its way through the rest of the Burg. Do you still get to call it a rumor if it is true?"

He pulled me back on the bed with him and kissed me. "We are calling this a rumor because we don't want anyone to know yet. So let's get going, you don't want to miss any of today."

I laughed because there was nothing else to do. I rolled out of bed again and jumped in the shower. Joe went in while I got dressed and got ready for a day of work. I didn't know if Burg rumor would make it to Rangeman, but I had a feeling they would be less likely to convince. I made a pot of coffee and had a cup waiting for Joe when he strolled out fully dressed. I am surprised he isn't pushing for sex , but I'm not arguing because one look the right way and I might be in trouble.

He took his cup with a kiss on my cheek. "So why don't we go grab some doughnuts for breakfast? I figured I could walk Bob on the way out."

"Sounds good. Let me grab something and I'll be ready to go." I went to my cookie jar and pulled out my gun and shoved it in my pocketbook and ran back to the bedroom to get the utility belt Ranger got for me and threw that in as well. I didn't think Joe would like seeing me with all the accessories so I was hoping to avoid the fight.

When I came into the entryway he just stared at me. He already had Bob on his leash ready to go. "Where is your gun?"

"I don't want to fight."

"I can't let you out carrying concealed without a permit. Put it on."

I opened my mouth, but thought better of it. I shuffled through my pocketbook and put the belt on and assembled all my equipment on it. "Happy now?"

"I hope that you are getting training now with all the equipment. If it keeps you safe, then it's worth it. Besides... you look sexy as hell like that." He reached out for me.

I pretended to be aghast. "Excuse me, I was promised doughnuts."

He gave me his sexy Morelli smile. "Yeah, but that was before I saw this." He ran a finger around my beltline. I needed him to stop because my hormones were racing and it had been too long. I was starting to think I might self combust.

I smacked his hand away. "We need to get Bob out before he ruins my floors."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. As I turned to lock the door our attention was drawn to the note taped to the door with a flower in it that looked just like one of the ones from the bouquet Joe gave me. I reached for it and Joe grabbed my hand. "Wait." He handed me Bob's leash and made some calls on his phone to the precinct. He placed his hand over the receiver and motioned to me. "Do you know for sure if that is one of the flowers from the table?"

I shrugged. "It looks like one of them. I wasn't really counting how many of them there were. Do you want me to go take Bob for a walk now?"

"No! He can wait a few more minutes until the team gets here. I don't want to let you out of my sight."

That made sense. I wasn't really looking to go running into this guy in the parking lot by myself with the world's most worthless guard dog. Bob would probably nudge me into a waiting car. He finally finished on the phone and pulled me into him. "This is fucking frustrating. Who is this guy?"

"Have you opened it yet?"

"No, I want to wait for forensics and I'm going to have them detail your apartment. If that's ok with you." He quickly recovered.

"Yeah, whatever it takes. So are you going to be hanging around here for a while?"

"I guess so. I didn't see any black SUVs in the parking lot so I'll follow you to Rangeman as soon as someone gets here to secure the scene. Then I can drop Bob off and come back."

So we sat in my hallway until the techs showed up a few minutes later. Bob shot down the stairwell and I was very glad that Morelli had taken his leash back. I followed them out and waited before making my way towards my car. I pressed the button to unlock the doors and I heard the telltale click. I made it two steps the other way before my car exploded. I fell on my hands before I could roll over into a sitting position to watch the flames envelop my car. I felt Bob licking my face, but I didn't move.

"You know, if you wanted me to still take you to get the doughnuts, all you needed to do was ask."

"I think I could really use a doughnut right now." Then I started crying. This was one more stressor I didn't need right now. He pulled me up and held me close.

"We'll find this guy. Don't worry about it. You have enough people watching over you, he's not going to get you."

After waiting for another scene to be secured by fire and police, he walked me to his SUV and closed the door before loading Bob in the back. I'm pretty sure I saw him pop two Tums before he took off. I was in a daze as he drove to his house first and dropped Bob off and I don't remember much until Joe place a box of doughnuts in my lap. I took one out and ate it without thinking. He reached across and tucked a hair behind my ear. "Are you going to be ok today?"

"I think so. I'll at least be in the safest place I know. Are you going to show me what the note says?"

He stared into my eyes for a minute. He must have been gauging what stupid thing I would try if he didn't share the information. What he didn't know was that for the first time in as long as I can remember, I had no urge to do anything reckless. I mostly wanted to go to sleep until the whole thing was over. "Yeah, I'll bring it to Rangeman later if you want. Ranger will probably want to take a look too."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "You are going to willingly work with Ranger?"

He sighed at me. "Not thirty minutes ago someone blew up your car and could have hurt you or the baby. I will do anything, even work with Ranger, if it means keeping you safe."

We pulled into Rangeman and he told me to let Ranger know that he'd bring the newest threat later this afternoon. I know the bombing means more security and shadowing which is comforting, but I haven't been by myself since before I found out I was pregnant. And it wasn't going to get any better any time soon which was slightly frustrating. Joe kissed me goodbye and promised to come back later.

I took the elevator up and let myself into Ranger's office. He was in there talking to Tank and I started to walk away, but they both motioned me to come in. I started to open my mouth to tell him and the waterworks started. I don't know how much a person could cry, but I was getting sick of it yet couldn't stop. I felt Ranger's arms around me and I buried my face in his chest. Once the sobbing stopped I pulled back and took the tissue and bottle of water that Tank handed me. Thank goodness he was thinking because I'm pretty sure I was going to dehydrate soon.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting like this."

Ranger ran his thumb down my cheek and I became very concerned that I hadn't looked in a mirror since the explosion. "It's ok. Morelli called to let us know what happened and that you were ok. We were just waiting for you to get here."

I took this as my invitation to explain everything that happened since last night. From Grandma Bella to the note to the explosion, and both men sported their blank face but I could see the anger radiating from them. I told them that Joe wanted to come by and bring the note and all information he had. Ranger nodded and said he'd clear a conference room for the four of us, I assumed Tank would be joining us. Which brought up another distressing issue...

"So has anyone here noticed..."

Ranger looked at me with a pointed look. "If anyone has they haven't been stupid enough to say anything or they would no longer be here. Why?"

I stared at my shoes for a minute. "I have about fifty messages on my phone and I know at least one of the guys knows. And I am not telling you who since you look like you're about to kill someone."

His face softened ever so slightly. "I trust you. If you want to tell someone, then I trust your judgment. Do you want to go lie down now? You've had a rough morning."

"No, I need to get to work." And I wouldn't be able to sleep; I would just toss and turn thinking about everything that has happened. What I really needed was a distraction. Ranger nodded his understand and I walked out to my desk. Tank patted me on the shoulder as I walked past him.

I was sitting at my desk for about fifteen minutes when I felt hands on my shoulders. "It's good to see you here every day. It's awful looking at nothing but other guys all the time."

I rolled my eyes. "Lester, you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome. Is there something I can do for you?" I turned to see him.

"Heading to the bonds office, wanted to know if you needed a ride out." He said a little too casually.

"Meaning you heard about my car blowing up."

"Hey, I was just trying to offer a ride. You haven't been out there too often lately, and I didn't know if you needed to get out there." He was fishing and I wasn't ready to take the bait.

"I'm staying pretty busy here with all the crap you guys keep leaving."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, let us know if you need anything Beautiful." He ruffled my hair and left.

I worked steadily for a couple of hours before I got the call from Joe that he was almost there. I collected Ranger and Tank and met Joe in the conference room.

"So this is what the inside of Rangeman looks like." He mumbled to himself. Ranger and Tank ignored his comment.

"So what do you have?" Ranger was getting down to business.

"A new note was left on Stephanie's door along with a flower that was in a vase on her table. So obviously this guy knows where she lives and he was inside her apartment. The note didn't give us a whole lot to go on and there were no prints or DNA in the apartment or hallway that we have found yet. He's either lucky or experienced." He hesitated, then pulled out the note and laid it on the table. The three of us stepped forward and read the note.

_Joey,_

_I am finding it hard to believe that you became a detective especially since you seem to have no idea how to find me. It was only too easy to find Ms. Plum though. Having her as seconds doesn't seem like such a bad proposition. Does she know everything about you? Does she know what you did to me? I'll make sure and tell her when I see her._

I read through it three times to see if anything stood out to me. I turned to Joe. "Does seconds seem to have any meaning to you?"

He put a hand to his strained face as though he was concentrating. "I can't think of anything. Is that what's sticking out to you?"

I shrugged. "The wording seems very curious to me. So what happens now?" I already knew it meant more protection and guards and every fiber of my being wanted to fight against it and run. But I knew this wasn't about me anymore. I had someone else to protect and I would do what had to be done to stay safe and keep my baby safe.

Joe stared at his shoes some more, this was so hard for him. "Your apartment is a crime scene, so you can't go back there tonight. And I will likely be working late tonight."

"I can keep an eye on her tonight." Tank offered. He wasn't implicitly saying it, but this way I got to avoid the awkwardness of admitting that I would probably be staying with Ranger tonight.

"Well that's covered. I'll see you later." He started to lean towards me to kiss me, but then rubbed my shoulder and turned away. I chose to believe he was doing this out of respect for Ranger.

After Joe left, Ranger turned to me. "I'll be out late, but you're more than welcome to stay up on seven tonight."

"Ok, I'll be there when you get in." He nodded and headed to his office.

Tank stayed behind and gave me a big smile. "I have plans for tonight. You need some stress relief."

"What plans do you have?"

"Don't you trust me?" I rolled my eyes at him. His cryptic tone didn't make me feel any better. "Just come to my office once you are done working for the day." He smiled and walked to his office as well.

I checked the clock and saw it was around lunchtime so I peeked in the break room. A group of guys were already sitting around the table eating what looked like beef stew that Ella had set out. I knew it was loaded with vegetables, but at least it wasn't another sandwich. A couple of the guys looked up at me and smiled or waved. I grabbed a bowl and sat down with them between Lester and Cal.

Lester threw an arm around my shoulders. "Beautiful, have I told you it makes my day when you are here."

I laughed. "I would think you would hate it because you all have to behave when I'm here."

"Why would I behave around you? That's no fun."

We sat around having a good time. He was right, I could tell they cleaned up a little, but they were still themselves. What was amazing is that it felt totally normal hanging with the guys and in fact it was a lot of fun. I was thinking that I really didn't spend a lot of non-work time with them and I should try to fix that. Everyone finished up and got back to work and I sat at my desk until about 4 and started to doze off at my desk. I closed up shop and headed to Tank's office. I was a little nervous, but mostly curious as to what his plan was for the night.

"You look exhausted. I won't be ready for another hour or two, so why don't you head upstairs and take a nap." I looked over towards Ranger's office direction and I think I saw him smile at me. "Ranger already left."

"I just- you know, I think a nap is a good idea. Especially since you refuse to tell me what we are doing. Where should I meet you?"

He laughed at me. "I'll come collect you. Just hang out up there."

So I headed up to the orgasmic sheets and I lay down and buried my face in them. It still smelled like Ranger and it made me feel safe and protected. I fell asleep pretty quickly and didn't wake up until I heard the knocking on the door.

"Stephanie, you awake?"

I sat up and stretched. I had been asleep for over an hour, and was feeling much better. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." I stepped into the bathroom to check myself over. As expected my hair was out of control. I tried to brush it out, but settled on throwing it up in a ponytail. I found Tank sitting in the living room. He looked up instantly; there was no catching him off guard. "Ok, spill."

"A couple of the guys are getting together to play poker tonight. I want to lay it out for you- they know something is up, but to my knowledge they don't know what exactly. No one wants to make you feel uncomfortable so they won't say anything, but if you tell them no one is going to judge you and anything said won't leave the room."

I trusted these guys with my life. I know they'd never betray Ranger or me. I just hated what people would think of me if they knew. It made sense to come clean, there was only so many ways I could cover up my early pregnancy behavior. "Ok, so what's for dinner?"

He smiled as though he knew I would cave. "Shorty's pizza. Unless that's a problem for you."

"No, that sounds good. When are we going?"

"Now. The pizza should be there in about twenty."

We headed down to four to Lester's apartment. "You ready for this?"

I shrugged. "No backing out now. Plus, there's pizza and I'm starving."

He opened the door and I saw four of the guys- Lester, Bobby, Hal and Cal sitting at the table already. "Hurry up with the pizza already!"

"Didn't have the pick up this week, but I did bring a Ranger replacement." All of them turned to look at me and I saw a few stunned and happy expressions.

"Beautiful! And I didn't think my night could get any better." Lester flashed me a cheesy grin.

"Yeah, sorry but it looks like you're stuck with me tonight."

Bobby recovered from his shocked face and chimed in, "No, no. We're happy to have you here, it's just- a surprise."

The room felt awkward for a moment and I knew Tank was right, they all knew something was up. How did I miss that earlier this morning? "Ok, so let's get the elephant out of the room. Who had pregnant in the pool?"

Lester's smile got wider. "I knew your breasts were bigger." Cal hit him in the back of the head and he swung back. "Yeah, like you didn't notice."

"Dumbass, you don't say that with her standing right there."

I decided to play it up and hope for the best. "Yeah, well, it's one of the few perks I get these days. So admire away while you still can." This sent them all into a fit of roaring laughter. I looked at Tank and he nodded ever so slightly. It felt good for this to be out in the open at least with them. Now I felt a weight had been lifted off my shoulders since I didn't have to hide anything.

Just then Vince walked in with a stack of pizza boxes. "Sorry it took so long, I was-" He had looked up, saw me and froze.

"Hey Vince. Long time no see. Hope you don't mind I'm sneaking in on poker night." He just stared for a long time and kept checking the door like he needed to make a run for it. It was probably time to put him out of his misery. "I was just telling the guys in here about my news."

"Oh thank god. I didn't think I could make it through another night."

"Wait, you knew?" "What the fuck man?"

"Yeah, you go into a stare down with Ranger and don't keep your mouth shut. I don't think so."

This had everyone laughing again. Once it quieted down Bobby asked what must have been on everyone's mind. "So does this mean you'll be staying here at Rangeman more often?"

I sighed, how to answer that question when I was still trying to figure it out myself. "Only time will tell. We'll know better in a few weeks." They could infer from that what they will.

And with that we got down to poker business. Despite my insistence that they didn't need to keep it clean for me, I think they tried a little. I had so much fun, and I'm pretty sure they were letting me win, but I wasn't arguing. I figured they got to drink all the beer while I was stuck with root beer so it evened out. After eleven I started yawning and Tank decided it was time to take me upstairs. I made it to the elevator and leaned on Tank. He walked me to the door of the apartment on seven and knocked. Ranger answered and it looked like he had just come out of the shower which made me smile. They engaged in some silent communication and Ranger picked me up and carried me off towards the bedroom.

"Hey Tank." I called to him. "Thanks for tonight. It was exactly what I needed."

"Any time."


	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry for the delay, I feel like it has taken forever to write this chapter. It's like when your mom makes you finish your dinner, and all you can think about is dessert so you plow through hoping for the best. At least that is the best analogy I can find. _

_That being said, I hope this chapter isn't too horrible and I wanted to let you know, this is your last chance to make your predictions…._

_One last time I am not JE and I make no money off this._

**Chapter 13**

The rest of the week passed by ever so slowly. I would stay a night with Joe and then one with Ranger and back and forth. There were no new developments in the case and that had me worried. He already blew up my car, what would be his next move? Luckily I was followed by a guard everywhere I went, even when I stayed at Joe's. As far as I knew he was accepting of this only as back up for if he got called out to a scene. I was starting to feel smothered, but I was trying, really trying. It's a hard line to toe when I have more bodyguards than the president.

Neither man was handling the whole thing well, although they put on a good face for me. Joe was noticeably starting to wear down. I don't think he was sleeping much unless I was there. There were so many actual murders that required his attention and keeping him out late at night. He tried to put on a good face for me, but I was worried that if he didn't lose some stress that he was going to snap. Unfortunately I was the greatest stressor to him.

Ranger did what he does best and went into tracker mode since Joe was being pulled in other directions. We sat together on more than one occasion and reviewed all the evidence. Every fiber, every word, even the type of flower he left on the door. None of it seemed to point to anyone and we were no closer to solve this mystery and it was increasingly frustrating for all of us.

I had been spending more time with the Merry Men, especially since they were so often detailed to watch over me. Now we had lunch together and they invited me over to keep me company one night when Ranger was late. I was really starting to enjoy hanging out with them and it was really making the week fly by. I did miss seeing my bonds girls every day, but hanging with the boys was different kind of fun.

The one major change has been from my two men. Both of them seem to have made an increase in their affection towards me. Once I am alone with one of them, the touching and kissing starts. It was starting to feel like before, but without the finishing. And the damn pregnancy hormones had me really craving further intimacy and it was getting harder to resist.

After everything that has happened since I found out I was pregnant all I could think about was how I wanted to get the paternity test done and over with. I had another appointment scheduled today with the good doctor to go over the procedure for the paternity test so I was preparing myself for being in an enclosed space with my two alpha males. Both men offered to drive me to the appointment, but since I was leaving from work Ranger got the job.

So here I am sitting in his office waiting for him. My knee is bouncing and my hands are shaking. I think I might be sweating. He walked in the door and went to his desk to drop some papers off. He looked at me and barely cocked his head to the side. "Babe, why are you nervous?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "You and Morelli in a small room fighting over who gets my baby."

"That's already been decided, we just don't know yet."

"So you two will be nice."

He laughed. "I don't know if we can do nice."

Now I laughed. "Ok, I'll settle for... civil."

"That we can probably manage. Do we need to get going?"

"Yeah, let's go and get this over with."

He offered his hand and pulled me to my feet. We went through the office and down the elevator holding hands. It felt so peculiar to be holding Ranger's hand, it felt as intimate as the moments we had shared in his apartment.

As he took off in the Porsche I looked at him. A man who thought his life was not conducive to relationships, who I thought would never have a real life, and yet here he was. I had always pictured this moment with Joe on the rare occasion that I would think about having children, never had I imagined Ranger in this position. And now I have both of them, but that would all change in less than two weeks. I was really ready to move on past all this high school behavior of back and forth between both men and I wanted that stable relationship for myself and my baby. The problem is that I wanted these results before I would decide that.

I looked at the man next to me and thought about how different he has been since this whole thing started. I wondered if he would be so quick to change if we weren't in this situation. Maybe he chose to grow up like I have or maybe he is just doing what he thinks is right like he did with Rachel. My mind was working overdrive trying to contemplate the thoughts going on behind that blank face. I must have been off in my own world because it took me a few seconds to realize he was trying to get my attention. "Babe. You there?"

"What? Yeah, I'm here." I am so great at playing it cool.

"Wanna tell me what you're thinking so hard about?"

"Not especially." I tried to focus straight ahead, but I saw him looking at me. "I was just wondering... do you think... would you be doing all this if..."

"I've been thinking about my life and I'm trying to make some changes. I would miss you if you weren't in my life anymore."

"But if I wasn't pregnant nothing would have changed?"

"No. You asked for more first. Didn't find out about the baby until after that."

"I guess so."

"Have you had any normal pregnancy thoughts since you've found out?"

I looked at him totally puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Everything has been about the paternity, have you had any real baby thoughts."

"You mean like the sex or names and what I'm going to register for?"

"Yeah, that kind of stuff."

"No, not really. I guess I will get there. It all just caught me a little off guard."

I stewed on that for a little while as we drove in silence. This was not a good subject for my mind either. I could just imagine trying to raise a Morelli boy causing all sorts of trouble and chasing every girl in town or a little girl with Ranger that he kept under lock and key. I was very happy to stop thinking about it by the time we made it to the doctor's office. Joe was already there leaning against his SUV. We got out and met up with him. He tried to smile at me, but I could see how nervous he was. "Come on, let's get this over with."

I grabbed his hand. "Joe, please… I know this is hard…"

He kissed my hand. "No worries, Cupcake."

So we went into the building and waited what felt like forever to see the doctor. Of course we got a nurse who was visibly intimidated by the two large men escorting me. Her hands were actually shaking as she took my vitals. Once she ushered us into the room I was sitting between Joe and Ranger in a regular office room. Dr. Stevens came in with his usual pleasant demeanor and looked up from his chart.

"Good afternoon everyone. I know we came here to talk about the paternity test, but I want to address something first. Stephanie, have you ever had high blood pressure before?"

"Uhh... no. Not that I know of."

"Your reading today was kind of high, which could be due to the stressful situation. But we need to keep an eye on it. High blood pressure isn't a good thing, but sometimes people with normal blood pressure will have high blood pressure during pregnancy and it can cause complications. You need to watch your salt intake and not just from the salt shaker, but from prepackaged foods that have a high sodium content. And you should probably try to exercise if you aren't already. Light walking and such is fine, but make sure to not overdo it. And most importantly, you need to decrease your stress. I know that's probably the hardest thing to do right now."

"That's only because you don't know how hard it is to get me to exercise."

Morelli snickered and I think I heard a small laugh come out of Ranger. The doctor just smiled and read through the last of the chart. He handed us each a pamphlet. "Back to the matter at hand. Since you want to do the test this early SNP Microarray is our only option. It's a relatively simple process that is explained here. You will each go in and verify your identity and then they will take a blood sample. After a couple of days they will call you and you all go in together to get the readings. Do you have any specific questions?"

I had way too many thoughts roaming through my head and no ability to voice any of them. The men with me didn't have the same issue, and Ranger started first. "What happens once one of us proved to be the father?"

"Then that person would have the option to sue for custody if they choose."

Morelli broke in next. "And once someone is proven to not be the father?"

"They would have no legal rights to the child. There are always options, but they don't always work. For instance if they marry the mother then the child can be adopted, but the birth father has to grant permission."

I looked at Ranger. He was staring straight forward with his blank face, but I noticed something else. That was exactly what happened with Julie. I knew right then that was something I would never ask him to do. He had already lost one child that way; it wouldn't be fair to him. And I hated myself in that moment because if this baby wasn't his it would essentially do the same thing. And Morelli, he was so excited with the news and wanted this so badly. One little fetus holding us all hostage for another week.

"Stephanie. Stephanie, do you have any questions?" The doctor had broken me out of my weird trance.

"Uhh... no. I think I'm good for know." I think I just got caught sleeping in class.

He reached forward and put a hand on my shoulder. "I know how tough his is for you. If you need anything, call the office and they can get a message to me if I'm not available." He gave pointed looks to my men and then said goodbye. Apparently all men have silent communication down.

We made our way out to the parking lot and I realized I didn't know who I was going home with. I looked at each of them and then blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. "I need a ride to my parent's house for dinner."

Morelli smiled at me. "I'll take you."

We looked at Ranger who held his hands up. "All yours."

We walked to the SUV as Ranger drove away. Joe kissed me on the forehead before closing my door and getting in himself. "You're pretty brave to volunteer for the crazy house."

"Hah! If we can get through the fiasco at my mother's, we can get through this."

"Joe - what happens after we get the results back?"

He reached over and touched my face. "You get to decide the rest of your life. And I get to pray that it's with me."

"Why me? You could have had any girl in Trenton."

He smiled. "Why not you? I tried to get you out of my life and we kept finding each other. Then I guess I just fell in love with you. I like to think that God had a good laugh when he paired us up."

We both had a good laugh at that. "Do you think we could make it forever without killing each other?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It is to death do us part, so that would still be honoring the vows."

I punched him in the shoulder. "We'll just have to make sure to have great insurance on you."

Dinner at my parents went as well as could be expected. My mother was a little upset that we weren't bringing her news of a marriage and grandchild that she had expected. We explained that as soon as he knew we were having a baby we would let her know. So it was mostly the truth. Plus I got pineapple upside down cake, so it was a bonus. Then Joe took me back to my apartment and we got to make out for a while so double bonus.

Life until Wednesday moved incredibly slow. I think we were all very anxious to get to the paternity appointment. I went to work each day then spent my nights with one of the guys. I even tried exercising at work. Ranger was thrilled about the doctor's recommendations as much as he tried to hide it. He has me walking on the treadmill in the morning and I always have one of the Merrymen to keep me company. They are a raunchy group of guys, but they are fun as hell.

I went to the bonds office one day when Tank was my guard. It was devious of me, but with everything Tank has done for me, I wanted to give him something back. He and Lula danced around each other, but the spark was still there. Plus it took some attention away from me for a while.

When Wednesday finally rolled around I spent most of the morning in the bathroom. When it was one hour before we were supposed to leave, Ranger found me. I felt his hand rubbing my back saying things to calm me down, but I couldn't hear anything. My stomach finally stopped and I sat back and felt Ranger's body behind mine holding me. "You okay?"

I nodded my head. "I will be."

"Liar, you've spent most of your morning in here."

"I'm starting to get used to being sick."

He reached his arms underneath mine and lifted me up to standing then turned me around. His fingers gently caressed my face. He leaned down to kiss me and I held my hand up to stop him. "I just got sick."

The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. "Don't care. Who knows how many more opportunities I have to kiss you?" I rolled my eyes at him and he led me out of the bathroom. "You win; now let's get something in your stomach." He sat me down in his office and brought me a cup of yogurt.

I slowly took a few bites before deciding if my stomach would keep it down. "I think it's just going to be a bad day."

"Babe, you're going to be fine."

"Nothing about this situation is _fine_. I'm hurting someone either way and I can't control my own body and I just want… to…." I was sobbing now and I had no ability to voice anything. He pulled me in close to him. Once I got myself under control I decided this was probably one of my last chances to ask him a question that had been on my mind for a long time. "Why did you make the DeChooch deal with me?"

He stared at me for what felt like a long time and I assumed he was contemplating how to best answer the question. I felt a little happy that I caught him off guard, but still nervous and unsure about his answer. "When we first started this working relationship, I was intrigued. Then as time went by I became attracted to you and I wanted to get you out of my system. After that night I had assumed that you would go back to seeing Morelli and that would keep you from pursuing a relationship with me and I would possibly have opportunity on your breaks. It would keep me from being tempted into an actual relationship which would put us both in danger."

"Both of us?"

"If I am always focused on you, then I am not one hundred percent in the field. However, you always seem to affect me even though I try to fight it. But mostly, I was afraid if I actually got you, I would never survive losing you."

"Oh." That was the best response my mind could come up with.

"Eat up, we need to get going." He patted my knee and got up to do close up his computer. Then he came back to me and held out his hand. I smiled and placed the empty yogurt cup in his hand. He smiled and shook his head as he threw the cup in the trashcan. He came back and offered his hand again which I took and we made our way to the testing clinic.

Joe's SUV was in the parking lot, but he wasn't out there so we went ahead inside. He was sitting in the waiting room and he looked as nervous as I felt. "We have to stop meeting like this."

I tried to look annoyed at the lame joke, but I couldn't help but laugh. "Have you gone in yet?"

"Nah, I wanted to wait for you. I wanted to make sure you were ok. How have you been?"

"Eh, not great. I'll be a lot better after this is all over. I think."

We all got out our IDs and went in individual rooms to get the blood draw. I was shaking like crazy, but my nurse was great. She kept telling me to calm down and was super quick. She said it usually took about two to three days to get the results back. My phone would be glued to my hand for those few days. I thanked her and made my way out into the waiting room and found both men standing there staring each other down. "Ok, get me out of here."

They both looked at me and I wondered what they were waiting for. "Where you going Cupcake?"

"Oh, umm… I guess I should head back to work for a little while." I tried not to look either of them in the eye and just walked towards the door.

So we walked out of the building and I started towards Ranger's car. Joe addressed Ranger as I was sitting in the car. "Manoso, can I have a word with you?"

Ranger looked at me and nodded to get in the car. "I'll be right there."

I closed the door deciding I didn't really want to know what was being said. I checked in the mirrors and I saw Joe talking animatedly, but not yelling. Ranger would calmly respond, but he was obviously terse. They both started looking tenser and Joe started gesturing more and I could see his voice ratcheting up a few notches and Ranger looked like he wanted to punch Joe. I decided it was probably time that I got out there to break it up.

"None of this would have happened if you had just laid off."

"Listen, if you weren't getting it done, that's not my problem."

Oh shit. "Hey! Hey! Cut it out. Both of you." I ran in between them. "You can't… Don't fight…" I started getting lightheaded and felt myself starting to fall down. I felt hands come under both sides of me.

I heard Morelli's voice. "Fuck! We need to get her in the car." They both walked me to the car and I let them. Once I was safely inside I heard him again. "Get her back and make her eat something."

Ranger got in and threw the car into drive. I started feeling a little less dizzy and I looked up at him and saw the lines in his face. The car came to a stop and I looked out the window at the McDonald's drive through. I shot him a look of pure shock. He faced me with a total blank face. "Babe, help me out here."

"Uhh… oh, I'll take a number one."

He turned toward the receiver, "Two number ones one with a Coke, one with water."

Once he drove forward, I let out a little laugh. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Your blood sugar is low and you need quick sugar with some protein. This seemed like the quickest way."

"Yeah, but the temple." I mocked him.

He opened the bag and pulled out the Big Mac. "Babe, what is this?"

How could I not laugh at him?

By Friday my nerves were shot. I was a ragged mess. Everyone tried to keep me busy or occupied in some way but nothing worked. We were hoping that the results would be in by the two days, but knew we might have to wait three. I stared at my phone all day long, willing it to ring. Unfortunately it never did.

Joe got a call to murder scene so Tank took me to dinner at my parents instead. It was so funny watching the big guy scramble to get away from my grandmother and her wily hands. He was a really good sport and we laughed about it the whole way home. I thought to myself how happy it made me that he finally opened up and let me in.

We were walking up the stairs to my apartment when I felt a tingle on my neck. Tank noticed my sudden shift. "What is it?"

I just shook my head. "Something just feels off."

He looked at me with apprehension. "Give me your keys."

I handed the keys over and he motioned for me to step back. He drew his gun and slowly opened the door as he peeked around the corner ready to fire. I heard a strange sound coming from my apartment and felt Tank's hand push my arm. I was so shocked I could barely hear the one word.

Run.


	14. Chapter 14

_Ok, so here is your fair warning. This chapter is very mature in theme, language, pretty much everything. So, readers beware._

_As usual, these are JE's characters, not mine._

**Chapter 14**

I started to back up when I heard a voice from inside my apartment. "If you run, he dies."

I froze in the hallway and turned my head towards my door. I tried to remain calm. "What do you want?"

I still couldn't see the person inside. "No time for questions. Either get in here or I will slit his throat."

My thoughts flickered between my baby and my new friend. I couldn't leave him. I looked down the hallway to see if there was anyone to help and there was nothing. So I took two steps towards the door. "What now?"

"Help me get him in." His head was down so I couldn't see his face. He was trying to drag Tank further in the house. I pushed his front half in and he slammed the door shut behind him. He turned to face me as I was checking Tank for a pulse. I saw the gun in his hands and I started to feel a panic. "Well Stephanie, alone at last."

I held up my hands. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but you should probably just leave."

"But I have been waiting for this moment for so long. Longer than you can imagine."

I stared at his face for a moment. He looked familiar and I tried to place him in the context of Joe's life. Then it hit me. "Tommy? Tommy Siliano from high school? I don't understand."

"Yeah, I wouldn't expect you to. Joey should."

"But you and Joe were best friends back in high school. Why are you trying to hurt him now?"

He sneered and waved the gun around. "Prison fucks people up. At least that's my defense. Joe fucked me over a long time ago; I'm not surprised you didn't know. Though I must say, I was a little disappointed he didn't remember. I did try to warn him."

I needed to stall and maybe Joe would make to home or Ranger would notice Tank's absence or Tank would wake up. I needed to keep him talking. "What did you do to Tank? Is he going to be ok?"

He looked disgusted. "He'll be fine. I don't think he saw me. The original drug wasn't that strong, so I do need to dope him up further so he doesn't interfere and you are going to help me restrain him."

"Why would I do that?"

He smiled at me and he had a crazy angry look in his eyes. "Didn't I make myself clear earlier?" He reached into a bag and pulled out some zip ties and handcuffs and threw them at me. "Go ahead and tie his hands and feet. I don't know if they will fit, I wasn't prepared for him and he looks huge."

"What were you prepared for?" I don't know if I want the answer, but I needed more information.

"Joe was supposed to bring you home tonight. You always go to your parent's house and then either go there or come here. So where is he now?"

"He got called to a murder scene."

He waved the gun at me. "Get your phone and call him. Tell him to meet you here. And don't let on." He set the gun down and filled a syringe and quickly injected Tank.

He was definitely crazy and I started shaking with fear. "Whhaat arrre you going ttto do to mmme?"

"I don't know yet. That depends on if you decide to be a good girl or not. Now start dialing."

My fingers were struggling with the touch buttons on the phone and I tried dialing three times and still couldn't get it right. "Stephanie. Stephanie!" My eyes shot up at his tone. "You need to calm down or this won't work. Take a deep breath or something."

"It's hard for me to be calm when you are threatening me, my friend and Joe."

"Make the goddamn call. Put it on speaker."

I was more angry than scared now and my shaking was a little better. I needed to focus on finding a way out of this and the first step was getting Joe here. I dialed his number and prayed that he could hear in my voice what I needed without me saying so. I thought it may go to voicemail, but he finally picked up after four rings. "Hey Cupcake."

"Hey Joe." I could hear the fear in my voice. I hoped he could too.

"What's wrong?"

Tommy shot me a look. "Nothing really. Can you come over now?"

"We are finishing up here, maybe half an hour left. Do you want me to pick up dinner?"

Here was my shot, he knew I'd never pass up food. "No, I just want you to come over soon."

There was silence on the line. "You sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, I just really need to see you."

"Ok, I'll be there as quick as I can." And he hung up. I would think he would say I love you so maybe he got my message.

Tommy looked pleased with the situation. "Good, now we just need to get everything ready. Of course what to do now..."

"What do you mean? What happens now? What did you do to Tank?"

"Now you shut up and wait." He put the gun in his back waistband and pulled out a small knife. "The whole plan is fucked now, need to regroup." He was muttering to himself and pacing.

I was surveying the scene and I still couldn't make sense of it. Part of me saw the opportunity to run, but Tank was still there and I couldn't leave him. I needed more time, maybe I could still figure this out. "Will you tell me what's going on?" I shouted at him to pull him out of his muttering.

"You really don't know how to shut up bitch, though maybe I should try a different method to keep you quiet... How does he put up with you? I'm trying to figure out how to get this all back on track now. Joey is supposed to be tied up in a chair right now. Just waking up from the drugs. But nooo, today he gets called away."

He still wasn't telling me what I needed. "What about me? What happens to me when he wakes up?"

He averted his eyes and wiped the knife against his pants. "You don't want to know."

"What's the knife for?"

"Knives are more graphic than guns. It makes the scene look better, more bloody."

This was bad; I don't think that I am not supposed to make it out alive. When I was able to speak again my voice sounded so small I barely recognized it. "Why? Tommy, I don't remember you ever being like this. Please don't do this."

"I do feel bad about you being involved, but there isn't another way. I watched him and studied him. I tried to find another weakness. You are the only thing he cares about, so I don't have any other options."

"You don't have to do this! Just let me go, please!"

"Oh, but I do. I really do. I have to do something to ruin him. You don't know what he did to me."

I rolled my eyes at him. "So why don't you tell me what is so horrible that you have to do... whatever to me."

"You think you know what he was like in high school. We were horrible kids, true. Joey was all about sleeping with every girl he could, the next day or so I'd come up and talk to the girl and console them and sometimes I'd get lucky too." He half smiled and the way he looked me over creeped me out. "I missed out on you in high school, but the plan was to remedy that today. Though Joe was supposed to be here to witness it."

"That's just ridiculous, you want to do all this just because you didn't sleep with me in high school? You're a psychopath!"

"Please, this isn't about that. You see we didn't just run around chasing skirt all the time. We'd also get drunk and boost cars for fun. And we started making money off the cars to buy more booze. But one day he's done with it all. He up and leaves for the navy and I'm by myself again. Shit - do you hear that? Get over here." He pulled my body up against him and wrapped one arm around my waist and held the knife to my neck.

I could hear the key scraping against the lock and I know Joe was coming in. Time froze and I was taken back to another day. A day when there was a madman holding me hostage and one of my men at the door and it felt so eerily similar. The day I realized that I loved them both. I have been so confused between them since that day when I didn't know which man was walking through my door. I may love them both, but in this moment I realize there is only one I truly need and can't live without. I make myself a promise to God if he can get me out of this situation I will tell him and I won't ever let him go.

And then time rushed forward and I realized where I was and that it was Joe opening my door. The last time I knew what was going to happen, I knew Scrog was going to shoot the man who walked through the door. This time I didn't know what was going on and everything was happening so fast and I couldn't concentrate, the world was spinning, I needed to protect my baby, but I couldn't think, it was all just...

"Stephanie! What the hell? Tommy? It's you?"

"Shut the fuck up and get in here before I kill her. And close the damn door."

Joe carefully closed the door behind him and stepped a little closer. He was careful when he spoke again. "Do you want to tell me what this is all about?"

"You fucked me over and now I'm fucking you over. Well at least Stephanie." There was a sick humor in his voice, I felt nauseous.

"I always knew you had quite the imagination."

"I came to you, my friend, when I was arrested. You were a cop, you could have helped me."

"I asked you to quit with me. I tried to get you out of it. By the time you were asking for my help you were too far in, there was too much evidence against you. I couldn't make it go away."

"Do you know what life is like in there? What happens to you? The one good thing is you get plenty of time to read about how to better cover your crimes and you get pretty handy with a knife. Makes revenge a whole lot easier."

"So what is your play here?"

"You did ruin my original plan, so we are playing it by ear."

"What are you doing with her?" He nodded to me and I willed him to look at me, but he kept focused on Tommy. He was being so distant, and I felt my heart rate increase, what was he playing at?

Tommy took this opportunity to run his free hand up to my breasts and roamed around them. I watched Joe's eyes as he did this and they never moved. A few tears silently slipped out. "Haven't decided yet. She looks like a lot of fun, I guess you know best. You were supposed to get to watch, but it looks like you won't get the pleasure." His hand moved down my body and tried to slip inside my waistband, but it was too tight. So he changed his mind and licked the side of my face as he pulled my waist into him again so I could feel how excited it made him. I felt vomit in my mouth, but I swallowed it back down.

Joe snorted. "Have at her. Everyone else has."

His retort shocked me. "Joe!"

"Shut up Stephanie. I know how long you've been fucking Manoso. Not to mention you seem pretty tight with all those guys you work with at Rangeman. Maybe you've been fucking them too."

"Joe - don't do this. Please-" I was shocked by this turn of events; he had never talked this way about me. And while it felt so true, it hurt like hell. I could feel the tears pouring down my face.

"Don't try to play me Joey. I know you love her. I've been watching you. I know how you would sit in your house looking so pitiful in that house all alone when she's not with you. I saw the fear in your eyes when her car burned."

He kept his eyes focused on Tommy and refused to look at me. "You should have been watching her, following her and not me. Then you'd know better."

The knife moved lower down my body and rested against my stomach. "Yeah, but she's carrying your baby. You can't hide that. I saw you at the doctor's office."

"Try again idiot." Now he turned and looks at me. "Yeah Steph, I called the testing center today. Not my baby." The pain on his face was unbearable and I thought I may have seen tears in his eyes. I brought my hand to my mouth to control my sobbing. My head was spinning and I felt myself waver and Tommy pulled me tighter to him.

"Joe ... I-"

"Save it. So Tommy, what's your move now? I'm pretty sure I heard Tank's phone buzzing a minute ago which means that Ranger is probably about ten to fifteen minutes away with about a dozen trained killers. The way I see it you have three choices. So you can either kill her, I kill you and you make me a big hero that got here too late, you can try to attack me, maybe you succeed and then you run into Ranger's guys outside and they kill you or you can do the really smart thing and leave now."

I could hear Tommy thinking behind me as I felt my own brain going fuzzy. "If I used her as a hostage maybe I could get out."

Joe just smiled. "You've never seen those guys in action, especially not over their precious Stephanie."

"I hate you, you little prick. You always got everything, I can't just leave with nothing."

"Haven't you been listening, she beat you to the punch. She has been making my life miserable for years now. And now this- it's too much. I figure you take off, I get to kill her which takes care of the baby problem and blame you. Surely you have an escape route so you're long gone. With what I do to her, they'll surely take me to court, and then you get to sit far away and watch me try to beat the charges or go to jail myself."

"You'd really kill her?"

Joe turned and looked at me with anger in his eyes. "You should understand hate makes a person do crazy things. And right now, I'm seeing nothing but red."

There was more silence as my fate was being decided. I could do nothing but stare straight into his eyes and try to focus. No apology could ever make up for what I had put him through, and even if it could my mouth wouldn't open to say them. I felt the hand holding me in place move and I shifted ever so slightly and I saw the gun come from the side of me pointed at Joe.

"I'll leave you to her then. Just to make sure though..." And I felt another jerky movement and pain in my other side. My hand immediately went to the point of pain and I felt the knife handle.

A panic rushed through my body as I thought of my precious baby. I fell to my knees and pleadingly looked up at Joe. I saw no sympathy in his eyes only more burning hatred. Tears were streaming down my face but my mouth made no sound.

Tommy snickered behind me. "I really thought you were bluffing. Have fun you two." I could hear him behind me moving and I was assuming he was heading towards the fire escape. I never took my eyes off Joe. He stalked slowly towards me then walked past me. I turned my head to watch as he looked out the fire escape and I was half afraid he was going to leave me there to bleed to death. The dizziness started again and I started swaying. After a few moments he slammed the window shut, locked it and grabbed his radio and ran to my side.

"Get me a med team in here ASAP. I have two down." He set the radio on the ground and held me in his arms. "Stephanie stay with me. Please Cupcake stay with me."

I reached my hand up to touch his face. My hand felt so heavy, but I wanted him to know how much I loved him. I could feel the darkness coming over me. "I'm so sorry Joe; I wanted this baby to be yours." I caressed his face and I felt myself slip away.


	15. Chapter 15

_So hopefully I didn't lose anyone on the last chapter. As I have said, this is a two part story with the next part focusing more on Ranger, but it will also include some Stephanie and Joe. So hopefully you will stick around for that story as well. Thank you all so much for the reviews, only two chapters left for this part!_

_These are JE's characters, I work with them what I can._

**Chapter 15**

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I felt sore and my eyes struggled to open. I tried to recall through the haze the last thing I could remember. I remembered Joe saying hurtful things and then holding me. I touched his face and then, where did he go? In my panic I could hear the beeping getting faster and my eyes shot open. I looked to my side and Ranger was there holding my hand. He lifted his head from where it had been laying on the bed. He gently touched my face, but I couldn't make out the expression. Shock? Concern? How bad did I look?

I tried to sit myself up, but couldn't move. He pressed a button which got me up into a semi-sitting position. I squeezed his hand with what little force I could. Everything slowly started coming back to me. I didn't want to hurt him, but I had to know. I opened my mouth and could barely croak out the one word. "Joe?"

His face changed again and he almost looked sad. "He's here. I made him go shower. He was miserable to be around." Then a small smile creeped across his face. "He will be pissed he missed you waking up. It's only fair though, I wanted one last moment with you."

"Ranger-" He immediately put a finger on my lips.

"It's ok. Everything is ok now. You went through surgery to repair some damage from the knife wound and you've been out of it for a little over forty eight hours. We caught Tommy on his way out and he is locked up far away from you. Tank finally woke up from the drugs and he is pissed at you for not listening to him."

"He said he would kill him!" My voice sounded even worse when I tried to scream. Ranger grabbed a cup of water on the side table and held it so I could drink through the straw. "Thank you."

"You never cease to amaze me. Do you really think Tank would have ever been able to live with himself if you had lost the baby or worse?"

A huge wave of relief rushed over me. "So the baby is ok?"

That earned me a smile. "Your baby is fine. The knife didn't hit anything important, but you did lose quite a bit of blood. That combined with your blood pressure made things a little concerning. How are you feeling?"

"Hurts like a bitch. Getting stabbed sucks."

That made him smile. "Told you so."

I took a few more sips of water and my eyes kept flitting to the door.

"Don't worry, Morelli will be back soon."

He was talking so calmly about Joe and it just felt weird. "Since when are you two ok with each other?"

"Babe, Joe called me as soon as he hung up on you. He knew something was wrong when he walked through the door. We had him wired."

"So you heard everything?" He nodded. "And all that stuff that Joe said?"

"He was trying to draw the attention away from you. Hoping that Tommy would care more about saving his own neck. You getting stabbed wasn't part of the plan. But everything he said wasn't real."

"Some of it was. He was right about what I did to him."

"Don't do that to yourself. Move on past this, we all need to move on. I know now, and I'm backing off."

"It isn't that simple Ranger. How can Joe move past me having your baby?"

"Calm down, your blood pressure will go up again. I told you none of it was real. We still don't have the paternity results. We were waiting for you to wake up."

My mind was whirling with excitement, I could still have Joe's baby! I tried to control the grin coming over my face. Then I realized that if this wasn't Ranger's baby, then it was over between us. I didn't know what would happen now, if we could still be friends after everything that happened. I felt tears forming in my eyes. "I'm sorry to put you through all this. It was terrible of me to do to both of you. I hate what this has done to all of us. Mostly I was scared. I think I will always love you and I don't want to lose you forever."

"I will always love you and I will always be there for you. Everything will be ok now, I promise. I do ask one thing. Can I at least have one kiss goodbye?"

"Of course, come here." He sat on the side of my bed and placed his hands on either side of my face. He leaned down to place his lips on mine. I tried to show him in that one kiss everything he meant to me and how much I did love him in my own way. Time stood still in that moment until he finally pulled away. We sat there looking at each other not ready for it to be over.

Just then we heard the door open and Joe's voice break us from our reverie. "You're awake!"

Ranger caressed my face one last time then got up and turned to Joe. "She's all yours. Do you want me to get them?"

He looked from me to Ranger and back. "Yeah, go get them." Ranger left the room and Joe came over and stood a few feet from me, just out of reach. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just a little sore. Where is Ranger going?"

"He's getting the doctor and the paternity results. We didn't want to open them without you. Listen, I'm sorry for everything that happened and what I said. I was just trying-"

I held up my hand to stop him. "Ranger told me. Still, you were right. I've been terrible to you. I'm sorry. I promise Joe, I changed. I know I love you, it's you, it's always been you. It shouldn't have taken me so long to see it."

He took my face in his hands and kissed me. I felt a thousand kisses in that one. Kisses I never thought I would ever have again. He finally pulled away, but kept his hands gently touching my face. "I love you. I don't care how long it took, as long as you are mine now. I have been so worried because I should have made a move on you sooner and I thought that I lost you to Ranger. And then I really almost lost you in there. I... I tried to get him to focus on me in the hopes he would give up on you. I have been re-living that moment over and over trying to figure out what I could have done differently."

"Nothing. It didn't matter. He was one very sick man. I'm just glad you brought back up. How did you know?"

"Tank took you to your parent's house for dinner. When I asked if you wanted me to pick up dinner you would have mentioned leftovers. Your mom always packs me leftovers."

I laughed then grabbed my side in pain. "It worked on a technicality then. Between Tank and I we ate pretty much everything."

"Still a food conversation you actually bypassed. Strange enough for me."

I was amazed at the sharp contrast from the last time I saw Joe. This time there was nothing but love in his eyes as he gently tucked a curl behind my ear. I grabbed his hand and held it in mine. "Joe, are you sure you're going to be ok with this?"

He looked down apparently trying to find the right words. "When I walked in that apartment and saw the knife to your throat... I thought my life was over. And I knew that keeping you and your baby safe was the only thing that mattered. I told you once that it didn't matter to me. Yes, I want it to be mine, but I'm not going anywhere. And I promise to love this baby just as much as any other children we may have."

"What about Ranger?"

He softly laughed to himself. "Ranger and I... talked while we were waiting to hear from the surgeon. I think we'll be ok."

"What do you mean you talked?'

"As much as I want you all to myself, it's not fair to either of you. He loves you and you love him. If I kept you away from him you would eventually resent me for it. I want to trust you to be around him and stay faithful to me. I want you to keep working at Rangeman if that's what you want to do. And I won't fight you if you want to spend time with him. I can't hold on to this hate of him and distrust anymore. It's not going to be easy, and we will probably eventually fight over it. I just want to be with you, whatever that takes."

Somewhere during this speech my waterworks started up again. I held out my arms and he engulfed me in his. "Thank you for being patient with me. It means more to me that you can ever know." I whispered in his ear.

He withdrew and held me at arm's length. "There is nothing I want more than a lifetime of fighting with you."

I tried to take a swing at him but he pulled away. We both started laughing until my side hurt again. Then there was a knock on the door and Dr. Stevens came in with Ranger. Joe and Ranger both nodded at each other and Ranger came over to my other side.

"Well Stephanie, you gave us quite the scare. I need to check on a few things if you don't mind." I nodded and he proceeded to go through his doctor check up steps. "Luckily the surgeon was able to repair the damage and you shouldn't have any lasting effects. There are a couple of stitches you'll need to keep cleaned. You were likely experiencing some dizziness from your blood pressure. We seem to have it stabilized for now, so once you are cleared, keep doing those things we talked about."

"How long will I be here?"

"You can probably go home tomorrow. We just want to monitor you overnight to make sure there aren't any problems. Any other questions?"

"Stop stalling and open the envelope."

He chuckled at me and pulled out the envelope. Joe and Ranger each grabbed a hand. I swear he was taking his sweet time getting the paperwork out. He scanned over it and looked up at the three of us. "Joe Morelli is the father."

My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Joe and he was the happiest I had ever seen him. He threw his arms around me and pulled me in tight. When he finally let go we both turned to Ranger. He was smiling down at me. He bent down and kissed my forehead. "It's for the best Babe."

More tears started forming in my eyes. "I'm going to miss you."

"Cupcake, you're still going to see him at work." I looked up at him and saw there was no anger behind it.

"You're really going to be ok with that?"

He shrugged. "Like I said, we talked."

"Must have been one hell of a talk." I mumbled.

All three men laughed at me. Dr. Stevens started towards the door. "I'll be in to check on you tomorrow. Take care."

"So does one of you want to explain what happened in the past two days with this "talk"?"

They both looked at each other then at me. They shook their heads no and I thought I saw them smiling. "Well you both suck." And I crossed my arms across my chest.

Now they were really smiling. Ranger leaned over and kissed my forehead again. "I need to get going. Tank is going to stop by to check up on you later."

"And when will I see you again?"

"In about 3-4 weeks when the doctor clears you for work. Or you can call me if you need anything."

"Ok. I'll see you around then."

He looked at Morelli now. "You take of her."

"I will."

Ranger took one last look at me and left.

I was finally alone with Joe and our good news. I could tell he was watching me to see my reaction. I grinned up at him. "Now is the time to be excited."

He took me in his arms and started kissing my face and my then my mouth. I laughed at his enthusiasm. "I still can't believe it. I feel badly for Ranger, but I'm just so goddamn happy!"

"I'm happy too Joe, really I am. I feel... free. I can start being excited about the baby. Our baby. And we have a lot of things we need to take care of now."

"Oh, what kind of things?"

"First, we need to make a couple of stops on the way home. I believe I made a promise and I intend on keeping it. Then you are going to take me home and take care of me. There are some things we have neglected for a couple of weeks and I am dying to revisit one of the best things you have to offer."

"Did I mention I love you?"

We sat and talked for a while. Tank came and visited just as Ranger said. He made me promise that next time I let the crazy murderer kill him and I will run instead. Seriously, when would I get into another situation like that? Not my best argument.

They brought me some pretty tragic dinner. Morelli laughed at me trying to eat my way through the vegetables. He kept me company until I started getting tired. He explained to me what all they had uncovered about the Tommy situation. Joe confessed that in his younger years he had not been such an upstanding citizen, but had left for the navy before they could get into any real trouble. He had tried to convince Tommy to come with him, but the money was too good. A couple of years after he had started on the force Tommy had got caught for grand theft auto and assault on an officer during his arrest. He asked for Joe to help him, but his hands were tied. It was already his second offense, there was too much evidence against him and Tommy nearly killed the cop that he assaulted. Tommy took offense and blamed Joe for his stay in prison, which was quite graphic for him. Sometime during his prison stay he had a psychotic break, but played good for the parole board. Once he got out he stalked Joe and made it his mission to ruin his life, which he determined to be me. He was currently in a locked psych ward and would be standing trial for attempted murder.

I told Joe to go home and get some sleep, but he insisted on stay until I was released. The nurses brought in a chair that folded out into a bed. Joe wouldn't lie down until I fell asleep, which didn't take long. I woke up and saw him lying on the makeshift bed and admired the view. To think that a few days ago I thought that my world was over; that I had lost Joe forever. I was going to make sure that we made up for any lost time.

He shifted and opened his eyes. They found me immediately and a smile formed on his face. "Morning Cupcake."

"Good morning. Did you sleep ok on that thing?"

"Eh, not really. I'll sleep better tonight. I keep waking up afraid you're not there." He got up and started getting the bed all put back together.

"Tonight you get to hold me in your arms. Tonight and every night until you can no longer put your arms around me."

He made a face at me. "Surely you won't get that big."

"I plan on getting huge. Eating everything I can get my hands on. You saw my sister."

"Yikes! It's a good thing you're still working with Ranger and he'll make you work out."

Just then a new nurse walked in. She was momentarily stunted by the handsome man in my room, but quickly recovered. I don't think women will ever stop checking out my man, but now I know he's all mine. "Good morning Ms. Plum. Let's get you checked out and hopefully you can go home today." She poked and prodded me and said she would send the doctor in for the discharge paperwork.

We gathered all our stuff together while we waited for the doctor. Someone had the forethought to bring me some clothes to go home in for which I was grateful. I was so happy to finally get out of the horrible hospital clothes and I was really itching to get out all together. I finally got discharged from the hospital around noon. We got out to the car and Joe turned to me. "Where to?"

A sly smile came over my face. "To your mother's house."


	16. Chapter 16

_First off, I would like to thank you for all the reviews both good and not so happy. I knew when I started writing this that some people would be upset, but it is what it is. I wanted to address a couple of things that have been commented since I am spotty on PMing. #1. I was very specific when I chose my summary: this was a story where both men had a shot at her. There are plenty of stories out there with specific HEAs you know from the beginning: this was not one of them. I did not want to mislead anyone, but I wanted a surprise story because there aren't a lot out there. #2. I felt it was important to keep my characters as close to the cannon as possible, so yes Stephanie was indecisive for a long time. She annoyed me too, but it would be out of character for her, in my opinion, to just automatically decide. To be fair, JE got 22 books of indecisiveness; I only put you through 14 chapters. _

_Now that that is done, I love that those of you reading this have stuck around and I look forward to continuing on with the next part and to continue to read your works as well. It is amazing to be welcomed into the company of such other wonderful writers. Enough of my soapbox and onto the conclusion of part 1._

_As always, these are JE's characters, I just made them grow up a little._

**Chapter 16**

We pulled up to his mother's house and I saw a twinkle in Joe's eye. I was so excited for him. He looked like it was Christmas morning. I was so happy for him. My wandering mind travelled back to the day we spent with his family. Bella of course would remember her prediction and everyone would be amazed at her powers once again. But what would his mother think? Would she be upset that we aren't married and insist that we get married? My mother would do the exact same thing. Was I finally ready to get married? Come to think of it, Joe hadn't said anything about it to me at all. Maybe he was waiting to see if I changed my mind at all...

"Cupcake, you there?"

Apparently I had been staring off into space. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's do this."

"If you aren't ready, we can wait."

"No! No more waiting, I am living in the moment now and this is our moment."

That earned me a big grin. "I love you."

He jumped out of the car and came around to open my door. As he offered his hand to pull me up, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a deep kiss. I started thinking all kinds of dirty thoughts and was about to decide that not going straight home was a stupid idea until I heard his mother calling from the porch and I broke away. "Joseph Anthony Morelli, you bring that girl in this house this instant!" My cheeks must be tomato red as I just got caught making out in front of Joe Morelli's house.

"Yes Ma." He called back, never taking his eyes off me. I felt his hand slip into mine and he led me to the front door.

His mother slapped him on the head and shut the door behind us. "What are you thinking? In front of the house with all the neighbors to see."

"I'm just thinking how happy I am. Ma, I have great news. Stephanie and I are having a baby." His face was beaming as he said it.

She quickly crossed herself and started breathing heavily. "I am so happy for you both. Does this mean you're getting married now?"

He shrugged. "Not yet. Aren't you excited though, another grandchild?"

Her face seemed to examine him quizzically. "Of course. Congratulations Stephanie." She pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear. "Thank you for not giving up on him. You make him happy." As she pulled away from me I saw her wipe away a tear. "Of course you must be hungry, come, I'll put something out."

I was a little thrown off by my moment with Mrs. Morelli and I quickly excused myself to the restroom. I wiped away the tears that had formed after what she had said. At least she seemed happy we were together. But what did Joe mean? Maybe he didn't want to marry me now. All the emotion I had been holding back was coming out in tears. I thought we had moved past all this, but maybe he wasn't ready for that step or he thought I wasn't ready. I tried to calm myself down; I had to trust in us. It would happen when we were ready. Of course, I was ready now! But I would need some time to think about how to best approach this with him, I didn't want to go scaring him off. I decided it was best for me to get downstairs before they noticed my absence.

They were both quietly and calmly talking in the dining room when I walked in. "You feeling alright Cupcake?"

"Yeah, fine. Just normal pregnancy stuff."

"Ma and I were just talking about having a family dinner to tell everyone else. I didn't know if you'd feel up to that."

I gave a short laugh. "Well, anyone who doesn't know after my mother finds out will be living under a rock. But I think that would be fine." I heard my stupid voice betray me. A part of me was terrified at the thought of another family dinner after what happened last time with Tony. I still hadn't told Joe yet and I don't know that I will. It probably didn't matter now, we were together.

"If you aren't feeling up to it, we don't have to. You've been through a lot and I don't want you pushing yourself." He was studying me with his assessing cop eyes.

"No, really. It's fine." Pregnancy does not help my ability to lie.

"That's wonderful Stephanie. I'll call your mother and set up the arrangements."

"Oh, um... can you wait until tomorrow or at least later tonight? I still haven't told them yet, we're headed there next."

"Absolutely, but we must get started quickly."

"Ma, really..."

Just then we all felt the shudder in the room and turned to see Grandma Bella walking in. She pointed a finger at me. "See, I told you all. Pregnant. How dare you lie to me Joseph?"

"I didn't lie Grandma. We just found out."

"Now you believe the eye."

"Of course. Well, we need to get to Stephanie's parents' house. We will be in touch." He grabbed my hand and pulled me from the couch. I think I was in shock. Bella was right the whole time and she was staring at me pointing to her eye. We kissed them both goodbye and booked it for the car.

"Ohmygoodness. She was right the whole time."

"Yeah, one out of how many?"

"She's still scary. So are you happy now you got to tell your mom?"

A big grin came over his face. "Yeah. You ready for your mom now?"

"Not really, but I have to. I can't stand the thought of her disappointment."

"Why would she be disappointed?"

I turned to look at him, but I couldn't tell if he really had no idea that my mother would be upset over yet another unwed pregnant daughter or if he was just playing dumb. I decided to try and play it off since I didn't know his intentions. "With my mother, you never know."

Once we pulled up into the house I felt myself glued to the seat. My mother and grandmother were both peering out the window. The next thing I knew Joe was standing in front of me opening my car door. He crouched down in front of me so we were eye to eye and his hand was cupping the side of my face. "I want you to know that your mother was there at the hospital when you came in. She was really concerned about you. She's going to be happy for you."

Tears fell down my cheeks. "I know, I just don't want to disappoint her."

"You won't. Now let's get inside." He wiped my eyes and pulled me up. He gave me a quick kiss on the nose. We walked into the house together and my mother seemed so excited.

"Stephanie, it's good to see you out of the hospital. We were so worried about you."

"Yeah, I'm doing good now. Hey Ma, we have some news. Where's Dad?"

"He's in the living room. Where else would he be? Frank, your daughter is looking for you." We all walked into the living room to find Dad.

He looked up at the four of us. "What's the big occasion? Do I need to put on pants?"

I took a deep breath. "Not right now Dad. We wanted to let you all know Joe and I are having a baby."

There were words of congratulations and a thud hitting the floor. Joe sat down on the couch next to Dad. Grandma walked over the top of Mom and walked me towards the kitchen. "Don't mind her, she's very overdramatic. So Officer Hottie knocked you up. Was it good?"

The awkward conversation with Grandma continued until Mom finally joined us. "Pregnant, really? That's so wonderful. What are your plans now?"

I shrugged my shoulders because I really hadn't given it a whole lot of thought until now. "I dunno. We are playing it by ear right now."

"You're going to get married now, right?" She looked at me expectantly.

I tried to look nonchalant. "He hasn't asked yet. I don't want to pressure him. So don't you dare say a thing."

She nodded her head and smiled to herself. "Joseph is a good boy now. He'll do the right thing."

"I don't want him to 'do the right thing'. I want him to want to marry me. Not marry me out of knocked up obligation."

"Of course he wants to marry you. You should have seen how upset he was when you were in the hospital. The man was crying for heaven's sake."

"He cried?"

"You still think all men are like your ex-husband. This one loves you and wants a family with you. How long has he stuck around waiting for you? I saw how excited he was when you told us. It's real."

I needed to get her off this topic quickly. "Yeah, I know. Oh, Joe's mom wants to throw some kind of congratulations party for the family or something. She's gonna call you."

"Oh, of course."

Joe peeked around the corner. "Do we need to get going?"

"You are both more than welcome to stay for dinner." My mother batted her eyes at Joe and I rolled mine at her.

"I'm really kinda tired. We'll come over another night."

"Of course. Frank, get in here and say goodbye to your daughter."

Dad met me at the door and awkwardly hugged me. We really were not a touchy-feely family. "If you're happy, then I'm happy for you." He whispered in my ear.

"I am. I love you Daddy." I whispered back.

We got out to the car and all the rush of emotion hit me at once. My crazy pregnant mind started going overdrive. I knew Joe wanted to be with me, but he still hasn't mentioned marriage. And now that I'm pregnant he might feel obligated. Maybe my mom was right, but I didn't know how to make sure. But maybe he doesn't want to get married. I was in the middle of my pity party when I felt a finger brush my cheek and wipe a tear that was rolling down.

"Cupcake, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm fine. Just a little emotional about the whole thing."

"We have seven months to get this all together. One step at a time." He smiled at me. We made the short drive home and got up to the house. I braced myself for Bob's welcoming party. "He's at Tony's. I didn't want him to hurt you while you were recovering."

"Oh. It feels kinda empty without him here." I set my bag down and looked around. Rex's cage was on the kitchen counter and I said hello. I was amazed how much this place felt like home.

Joe found me and looked me up and down. "I'm still here."

Oh yes, this is what I've been waiting for. "I know, and we have some time to make up for." I reached for him and he gathered me up into his arms.

"I was thinking you would want to go take a nap right now. I'll get dinner ready." He kissed the top of my head and pulled away.

"I'm not that tired."

"You're still recovering, you need to rest."

"But..." I had no good argument against it. I decided to try a different tactic and put on my bedroom eyes. "Maybe you want to come up with me. It's soooo lonely up there by myself."

"I would love to, but that would be counterproductive to resting." His face was devoid of any emotion.

Here I was practically humping his leg and he was turning me down. Joe Morelli is turning down sex! What is wrong with this picture? "Is everything ok Joe?"

"Everything is fine. I want to make sure you are recovering properly."

"Ok then." I walked up the stairs feeling very defeated.

"I love you Cupcake." He yelled up the stairs.

"I love you too." I halfheartedly called back. I nestled into bed and was thinking about how I wasn't really that tired and I fell asleep. When I finally woke up I could smell something amazing coming from downstairs. My stomach started growling, so I got out of bed and started heading down.

When I made it to the bottom I saw Joe waiting for me. "Good evening sleepyhead."

I walked straight into his arms. "I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"I have dinner waiting. Are you hungry?"

"Starving. And it smells so good. What is it?"

He smiled at me. "Pino's delivery. I thought you deserved something good after the nasty hospital food."

I pulled him into a playful kiss. "You're the best." We sat down at the table which had been carefully decorated with a tablecloth and candles. Joe was fidgeting and looking very anxious.

"Before we start, I wanted to talk to you."

He was acting like a virgin on prom night. "Joe, you're making me nervous."

"I'm nervous. This hasn't gone so well for us in the past. Shit! I'm fucking this all up." He shook his head and grabbed my hand. Then he dropped to the floor and my jaw went with it. "I want you to marry me." It all came out in such a blur that I was still trying to process exactly what he said.

He was staring intently in my eyes. "Stephanie. You there?" Apparently I had zoned out for a while.

"Uh, yeah. Are you sure? I don't want you to think that you have to do this just because I'm pregnant."

He looked down at his shoes, but didn't get up. "Do you really think that is why I'm asking you? Three weeks ago I asked you to make a decision about us. I was going to ask you then." He shuffled around and pulled the small ring box from his pocket. "I had this made almost a year ago, but for one reason or another never got around to it."

"You really want to marry me?"

"Of course I want to marry you. I've wanted to marry you for a long time. There's no one else that could make me miserable for the rest of my life." He grinned at me.

Happy tears slipped down my face. "And I want to make you miserable for the rest of my life. Now let me see the ring."

He pulled it back. "Not yet, you have to say it first."

I put my hands on either side of his face and kissed him hard. "Yes Joseph Morelli, I will marry you."

He held the box forward and opened it up. It held a very simple, but beautiful diamond ring. I liked it immediately. "My mom gave me my grandmother's old ring, but it was too old and gaudy. So I had the stones remade into this. If you don't like it, we can take it back"

"I love it. It's exactly the kind of thing I would have picked."

"Now let's eat so we can really celebrate." He pulled out a bottle of sparkling grape juice I hadn't noticed before.

"You seem to have thought of everything." I smiled as he handed me a glass. We both started eating, real food tasted so good!

He shrugged. "I was going to try to go all out after that last disastrous engagement, but I figured we've had enough excitement for a lifetime. Although I'm sure you won't let a little something like a baby keep you from getting in trouble."

"Probably not, trouble seems to find me. At least now my mother will be happy."

"Yours and mine both. Oh, I should warn you. That party my mom is throwing is an engagement party."

"Your mother knows already? What were you going to do if I said no?"

He gave me a very knowing smile. "I was going to make you an offer you couldn't refuse. And yeah, Ma knows, so do your parents."

"You told them before you even asked me?"

"Well Ma gave me the ring and then she was driving me crazy today. And I had to ask your father. I assumed he would tell your mother."

He really had thought this all out. And now I was stalker free with a pretty ring on my hand. I was finally a one man woman and that man was looking pretty good. He was looking downright fantastic considering how long it had been. "I'm pretty full. I say we start celebrating now."

"You read my mind." We both got up and he pulled me into him and started kissing me. He felt so good pressed up against me and if I didn't have him soon I might self combust.

I finally broke the kiss and could barely whisper the words. "Joe, you either need to get me upstairs or take me on the table."

He was now kissing down my cleavage. "Mmmm. Yes ma'am." He reached down and lifted me off the ground.

"What are you doing? Put me down!"

"I am in charge of your well being and I take my job very seriously."

He carried me up the stairs and gently laid me on the bed. He started taking my clothes off with extra care. When he got to my bandaged side he paused and grazed it with his fingertips . I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips then took one of his fingers in my mouth and sucked on it. I didn't want him sidetracked with feelings of guilt. In that action I saw his pupils dilate and a focused look come over his face. He began kissing down my body until he finally got to- oh my!

There was light streaming in through the curtains when I finally woke up the next morning. Joe's fingers were lightly stroking my stomach. "Good morning Cupcake. Good morning baby Morelli. How are you feeling?"

"I feel… relaxed, happy."

He started nuzzling my neck. "Do you want me to make you happy again?"

"If that is what you call making me breakfast, then yes!"

I felt him laugh into my hair. "Whatever you want." He kissed my lips, and then jumped out of bed. As he turned around I got a perfect view of the best ass in Trenton.

"Wait! I changed my mind. Come back to bed." I lifted up the blanket to invite him back in. He did a double take then climbed back in with me. Half an hour later I was taking a shower while Morelli made me breakfast. I got out of the shower and threw on some sweatpants I had left and one of Joe's t-shirts. I tried to brush through my hair, but since I wasn't planning on leaving there wasn't a good reason to mess with it too much. The smell of pancakes was overwhelming so I headed down the stairs.

"It smells great and I'm starving."

"Take a seat I have a plate right here for you. Oh good, you're dressed. Tony's on his way over with Bob." He sat two plates down and we started eating.

I was halfway into a pancake when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." I told him- I was anxious to see Bob. I opened the door and Bob rushed in and welcomed me back. He gave me kisses and I showered him with pets and gushed over how much I missed him.

"The kids had a field day with him, but I think he tried to destroy everything in the house."

Joe was leaning in the doorway to the dining room. "Yeah, he does that. Let me know how much I owe you."

"It's all good. He didn't do anything the kids hadn't already done before. Just wait, you'll see."

Joe's mouth twitched up in a smile. "It'll be sooner than you think."

The shock was visible in Tony's eyes as he looked between the two of us. "No shit? Congratulations! It is congratulations, right?"

Joe came up behind me and put his arms around me. "Oh yeah. I'm sure Ma will be contacting you for the engagement party."

"Happy for you two. I'm sure she's overjoyed and is planning your entire wedding as we speak. Are you getting married before the baby?"

"Uh… Yeah, we need to talk about what we're going to do about all this."

He started laughing. "Good luck trying to explain to Mom and Mrs. Plum if you don't get married before the baby."

Ugh! I hadn't thought about that. This was going to be quite the ordeal. I had to remind myself, the hardest part was already over with, I had my man.

"So Steph, about the other day…"

"Yeah, thanks for that. I needed it."

"But-"

"Really Tony, it's all good."

And it was. Now I just needed to get Tony out of here so I could go through just how good it could be again. And again. And again…

_To be continued in a new story. Thank you all for reading, I hope you liked it. If you have any title ideas for the next story, please let me know because I'm kinda stuck! _


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